Luge racer Shiva Keshavan in talks with a 'couple of state governments' over establishing winter sports academy in India

Mumbai: Shiva Keshavan, the first Indian representative to compete in luge at the Winter Olympics, is aiming to build an academy to nurture talented youngsters and is in talks with a couple of state governments. “My idea is to have a residential complex with all the multi-sports facilities and since (it will be) in the mountains, we will have access to the ski area, ice hockey,” Keshavan told reporters in Mumbai. [caption id=“attachment_4344715” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Shiva Keshavan. Reuters[/caption] “It can be built over time. So, I’m speaking to a couple of state governments to give a little bit of land or get some sponsors (involved in it).” Keshavan, a six-time Olympian, was speaking on the sidelines of the ‘CII Conclave on Winter Sports’, but he did not divulge which state governments he is in talks with. “By doing so (having an academy), India can become a hub in the region. We have Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, all countries that have budding winter sports teams,” he said and wished that other athletes should not go the way he had to take in his career. He’s happy to see the sports ministry’s interest in winter sports. “The investments are starting to come in from the ministry and I think that was the missing link. I have been participating in winter sports for over 20 years. There is not a single winter sports federation recognised by the Sports Ministry. “It is incredible to think how did I do (make) six Olympics without a Federation being recognised, which also means that I was not funded,” Keshavan lamented. Asked if he believed that India could win a medal in Winter Olympics, he said: “100 percent. I could have won a medal if I had a coach few years before, by the end of it I was (just) 6/10th of a second behind. It is possible” He also rued the fact that a country like the Netherlands has 130 medals at the Winter Olympics, while India was yet to open its account. “At five meters below sea-level, Netherlands has 130 medals at the Winter Olympics and we (India) at the roof of the world are yet to open an account,” he said. He was also asked whether winter sports can help a state like Jammu and Kashmir. “A lot of athletes who I have met, people who have strong emotions, anger in them, they can be that much more successful since they have something to prove, the way to prove it in a non-destructive way and you can get your platform.