Shiva Keshavan grabs gold at Asian Luge Championship

Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan finished the two-heat race in a minute and 39.962 seconds at a top-speed of 130.4 kmph, ahead of Japan’s Tanaka Shohei and Chinese Taipei's Lien Te-An.

Published : Dec 23, 2016 12:21 IST , Nagano (Japan)

"I was determined to not let anything deter me from the gold medal this time," said Shiva Keshavan, who braved an injury to win the gold.
"I was determined to not let anything deter me from the gold medal this time," said Shiva Keshavan, who braved an injury to win the gold.
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"I was determined to not let anything deter me from the gold medal this time," said Shiva Keshavan, who braved an injury to win the gold.

India’s seasoned Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan braved an injury to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Luge Championship here on Friday.

Keshavan dominated the event and finished the two-heat race in a minute and 39.962 seconds at a top-speed of 130.4 kmph.

Japan’s Tanaka Shohei finished second at 1:44.874 seconds and at a top-speed of 124.6 kmph. Chinese Taipei's Lien Te-An clinched the bronze medal clocking 1:45.120 with a 126.3 kmph top-speed.

Keshavan had a tumultuous lead-up to the event at the Spiral Olympic Track. Earlier this week, after clocking the best time in training, he suffered a crash at over 130kmph in which he broke his sled, suffered a tendon damage on his left foot.

Earlier this year, Shiva was forced to withdraw from the 2016 World Championships due to lack of funds.

"I was determined to not let anything deter me from the gold medal this time, so despite all the obstacles I decided to risk everything in the race. I want to express my deepest gratitude to all my supporters and sponsors Mallcom Ltd., Hero Electronix, Hero Fincorp and Micromax, without whom I would not have been able to get back on track and win this medal for India," Shiva said.

Shiva is slated to take part in the 2017 World Championship in Innsbruck, Austria and will compete in the World Cup circuit in the lead up to the qualification process for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Korea.

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