Daijiworld Media Network - Bangaluru

Bengaluru, Nov 20: Seventeen year old Bharath Pereira from Bengaluru has become the first Indian sport climber to qualify for the third edition of the Youth Olympics which will be held in Argentina in October next year.

The Youth Olympics that started in 2010 is held once in four years and is the junior equivalent of the Olympic Games.

There are only 20 slots available for the competitors around the world. Bharath who won two silver medals in the Asian Youth Championship, held in Singapore in August, is the only Asian to be qualified.

“I was shocked when my coach Keerthi Pais told me that I qualified for the Youth Olympics. In spite of my performance in Singapore, there was no much clarity about my selection and I did not think I will make the cut,” he told media.

Bharath says he started sport climbing when he was eight. He became fascinated with the sport when he witnessed some people climbing the walls of Kanteveera Stadium. He told his father Subhash Pereira about his desire and was encouraged to pursue the same.

“It is a tough sport. One has to climb near vertical wall and the degree of difficulty varies from climb to climb. Sport climbing consists of three distinctive categories. These are lead, speed and bouldering and a climber’s points are added to what he scores across these three categories,” he explains.

Bharath’s first international competition was Asian Youth Championship held in Jakarta in 2010. Ten-year-old then, Bharath surprised all by clinching three bronze medals.

This competition proved to be a confidence booster and Bharath says it was here he realized that if he puts effort he can excel in the sport.

Bharath who is preparing for the competition next year is all praises for his coach Keerthi Pais whom he refers to as his ‘rock of support’. His father Subhash says he is confident that his son will excel in the competition and make India proud.