Vishwaraj Jadeja hurtles around a chilly ice rink in the Netherlands thousands of miles from his tropical home in India, chasing his unlikely dream of competing in the Olympics.
His slender frame and short stature stand out among the thick-thighed Dutch giants on the 400-metre long-track in Utrecht, but the determined Vishwaraj, 28, powers himself forward at breakneck speed.
“Smoother! You have to slide!” his Dutch trainer Wim Nieuwenhuizen shouts at the native of Ahmedabad, a city of over five million in northwest India, where the average summer temperature reaches 41 degrees Celsius.
“He has four years to reach the necessary level for the Games in 2018, in Peongchang,” in South Korea, Wim told AFP while keeping an eye on the technique of his protege, a former inline skating – or rollerblading – champion known almost universally as “Vish”.
India regularly sends athletes to the Winter Olympics, mainly competing in skiing and luge, but has never had anyone qualify for ice skating.
Vishwaraj tried to qualify for next month’s Sochi Olympics, although he now admits the hope was unrealistic. Because of visa problems, he has only been able to train professionally for around 18 months.
India is only sending three athletes to the event in Russia, competing under the Olympic flag as the Indian Olympic Association has been suspended since 2012 because of government interference, among other things.
“As an athlete, you want to go to the Olympics, the final goal is always the Olympics. But inline skating is not in the Olympics,” sighed Vish, his breath vaporising in the cold air to which he has, finally, become accustomed.
“Long-track ice skating for me I thought was close enough to be able to make the switch and then pursue that dream,” he said, dreaming of following in the tracks of US inline skater turned Olympic ice skating champion Chad Hedrick.
Wim notes that there are also important differences between the two sports.
“It looks like it’s rather similar, but actually, you’re learning the wrong things,” he said.
“We are still busy with what he learnt for roller skating, so that he doesn’t use it on the ice.”
And Vish still has a long way to go to reach Olympic qualifying times. For Sochi, he was four seconds short on 500 metres and a minute short on 5,000 metres.
Nevertheless, Vish’s times are steadily improving and both he and Wim insist the 2018 objective is realistic.
“It takes years to become a champion,” said Wim.
Despite the technical and cultural challenges, a determined Vish left home in 2008, abandoning his electrical engineering university studies.
“In India, we don’t have a different word for ice and snow ... I’d never been on ice before,” he says, smiling.
The Netherlands was his promised land, known worldwide for its excellence in speed skating and the home of Olympic champions.
“If you want to play cricket, you go to India, if you want to do long-track ice skating, you come to the Netherlands,” said Vish. “Holland has a huge history for long-track ice-skating.”
He was able to leave India when an opportunity came up to go to Denmark on an educational exchange.
“I took a map, then I saw Denmark, well, that’s close enough, until I figure out a way to get to Holland,” he said.
From Denmark he went to Sweden where he took to the ice for the first time, foolhardy enough to try a competition.
“It was a disaster,” remembers Vishwaraj, bursting out laughing. “I was disqualified because I didn’t know the rules, I didn’t know that at a certain point you have to change lanes.”
He finally reached the Netherlands after contacting Wim Nieuwenhuizen, who has trained skaters who went on to become Olympic and world champions.
“You have to be crazy to have such a goal but if you are crazy, I can help you,” said Wim. “I would like to help you because I am too.”
Initial sniggering from those around him eventually turned to respect: daily training, mountain biking in the Alps in the summer, Vish is leaving nothing to chance, although financing his ambitions remains the biggest challenge.
He says he is only able to keep on track thanks to contributions from his friends, with whom he also takes turns staying, and his trainer.
But Vish is not the only Indian “Iceman”. He may hold the national record for 1,500, 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 metres, but fellow national Stephen Paul Kilari holds the 500 and 1,000 metre Indian records and is currently training in Salt Lake City in the United States.
“There’s always competition, we’re a billion people, there’s someone, somewhere that will be doing it,” said Vish.
“So there are other skaters who are trying, so I hope they also make it so we can have a big team at the next winter Olympics.”
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tori Amos
Native Invader
Decca
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Company%C2%A0profile
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Company%20profile%20
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
World Cup warm up matches
May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
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MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Norway
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Canada
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
