Skating gaining popularity among youth in capital

Coach says trend has increased tremendously over the past few years

ISLAMABAD:

The scenic and carpeted smooth roads of the capital under the shadow of tall green trees have witnessed visible rise in youth doing roller skating on the thoroughfares and tourist spots to polish their skills.

A skating coach, Bilal Khan, who runs a skating school at Hill View Park in Islamabad, told APP that trend of skating game had tremendously increased during the past few years in Islamabad as not only boys are taking a keen interest in the game even the number of female skaters had been substantially increased.

"A number of boys and girls want to do roller skating, but all of them cannot afford skating shoes due to its high price as the new pair of quality skating shoes is being sold up to Rs25,000 in market. Most of the people buy used skating shoes that are being sold up to Rs10,000", he said.

Talking about the game, he said that skating was a tough game that required enormous power in the legs. Skating brought elasticity in the body that helped a person to keep himself fit and fresh, he added.

Zainab Abbas, a university student said that she had a great interest in skating as she always wanted to become the world’s best skater since childhood. "I am a native of Peshawar, but living in Islamabad for higher education and fulfilling my dream of skating as the roads of Islamabad provides the best opportunity for this game", she added.

Shakeel Ahmad, a concerned parent regretted that the government had no interest in providing adequate arenas to practice skating. Therefore, the youngsters were forced to practice on the road which poses a risk of serious road accidents, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2022.