India’s Anandkumar Velkumar wins historic gold at 2025 Speed Skating World Championships

He also won bronze medal in men’s 500m sprint event at the same competition.

Anandkumar Velkumar has etched his name in the history books as he won India’s first-ever gold medal at the 2025 Speed Skating World Championships on Monday in Beidaihe district, China.

The 22-year-old clinched the senior men’s 1000m sprint title, clocking a time of 1:24.924 seconds, making him the first-ever Indian athlete to be crowned the World Champion in speed skating. This was his second medal in the ongoing Championships.

Earlier, Anandkumar Velkumar bagged the bronze medal in the men’s 500m sprint event at the 2025 Speed Skating World Championships.

He finished the event with a time of 43.072 seconds and became the first-ever Indian athlete to win a medal at the senior level at the Speed Skating World Championships.

Anandkumar also won a bronze medal at the World Games in Chengdu last month, his first international medal this season. He finished third in the 1000m sprint event, bagging the nation’s first medal in roller skating at the World Games.

Anandkumar Velkumar first got into the limelight when he won the silver medal in the 15km elimination at the Junior World Championships in 2021.

He has also witnessed success at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, where he clinched a bronze medal in the 3000m team relay event.

Following a successful outing so far in the ongoing season, the 22-year-old skater will have his eyes set on the qualification for the upcoming Asian Games, scheduled to take place from September 19 to October 4, 2026, in Aichi–Nagoya, Japan.

Krish Sharma crowned Junior World Champion

Krish Sharma became India’s first-ever Junior World Champion, having clinched the gold medal in Jr Men’s 1000m sprint final in the ongoing edition of the Speed Skating World Championship on Monday.

Anandkumar Velkumar and Krish Sharma’s gold medals at the Speed Skating World Championship 2025 mark a new milestone in the sport’s history and is expected to propel speed skating to even greater heights in the coming years.

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