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Pune boy Arnav Khanzode, on his dream of becoming a professional climber
Arnav practices in his school for three and a half hours daily during weekdays. On weekends, he trains at either Raje Shivaji Climbing Wall or Rock Aliens Climbing Gym
It was going on multiple treks to 40 different locations with his family, since the age of three, that helped Arnav Khanzode realise his inclination towards climbing and later take it up as a sport. The 11-year-old now dreams of reaching new heights, literally and figuratively.
Arnav represented India at the Asian K Championship 2018 held in Bangkok in December 2018 and won gold at Dervan Youth Games 2019 at Ratnagiri on March 20.
The Class 5 student of Vidya Valley School is participating in competitions for past two years and has won laurels. “Even though Arnav has been climbing since he was in senior kindergarten, he did not take part in contests earlier because of age-related constraints,” said Prakash Khanzode, Arnav’s father.
Arnav practices in his school for three and a half hours daily during weekdays. On weekends, he trains at either Raje Shivaji Climbing Wall or Rock Aliens Climbing Gym.
Sunday is reserved for other extracurricular activities. “I enjoy watching climbing technique videos on YouTube during my free time. I also play badminton and football, but climbing gets my full attention,” said Arnav, who trains under Anand Mali and Deepak Pawar.
“The boy has great potential. He has performed very well at national level events and our current priority is to prepare him for Asian level competitions. The fact that he started climbing at a very young age has given him an edge over others,” says Mali, who trains Arnav at his school.
“The school needs foreign coaches as their inputs will help our climbers compete at international levels. US-based coach Kris Peters has been recently appointed to train the children,” Mali added.
Arnav talks about the various disciplines on climbing, namely lead, team speed and bouldering. “I like speed climbing the most. As the name suggests, it requires a lot of speed and I enjoy it a lot,” he says.
Arnav’s father, a trekking enthusiast, set up a climbing gym at their house a year ago. “It is not possible to train outside every day and Arnav requires regular practice. Having a climbing gym at home is the best I can give,” says Prakash.