About
Amitesh Mishra
India's long-track speed skater, chasing a six-year plan to the podium at the 2030 Winter Olympics.
Wheels first
Amitesh Mishra hails from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, and made his name on India's inline speed skating circuit long before ice was ever part of the plan. In 2018, at just 18 years old, he became the youngest Indian roller skater selected for the Asian Games, racing the men's 20km in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia, and finishing 8th.
The switch to blades
India has almost no ice speed skating infrastructure, and almost no history at the Winter Games. Inspired by Vishwaraj Jadeja — one of the first Indian skaters to make the same jump from wheels to blades — Amitesh made the leap to long-track ice speed skating, trading a sport he'd spent years mastering for one he was starting from close to zero in.
Training in Heerenveen
To close the gap fast, Amitesh relocated to Heerenveen in the Netherlands — the historic heart of world speed skating — training under Felix Rijhnen. It was a serious financial and personal bet on an unproven path, made just months before his first ice competition on the international stage.
Asian Winter Games, Harbin 2025
Three months after switching from wheels to blades, Amitesh lined up for India at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China — competing in individual long-track events as well as team pursuit and team sprint alongside India's small long-track squad. The results weren't podium finishes yet. The debut itself was the milestone: one of the first Indian athletes to race long-track speed skating on the Asian Winter Games stage.
The six-year plan
Amitesh has been direct about the target: a gold medal in the 10,000m at the 2030 Winter Olympics. He's equally direct about what it will take beyond his own training — real grassroots infrastructure and sustained support for winter sports in India, the kind that has helped nations like China rapidly build a competitive ice sports program. Until that infrastructure exists, he's building the path himself, one season at a time.
Career details are drawn from public reporting on Amitesh’s career and are updated as new results come in.