Indian skater Shreyasi Joshi has scripted history at the Lishui International Inline Freestyle Open in China, winning bronze in the Senior Women’s Classic Slalom category. The result is being reported as India’s first medal at the Lishui International, adding another milestone to Joshi’s growing international career.
The Pune-based skater began skating at the age of three and has since become a 10-time national champion. Her latest achievement follows a landmark 2025 season in which she won gold in Classic Slalom and Battle Slalom at the Asian Roller Skating Championships in South Korea. Joshi has also represented India at the 2025 Inline Freestyle World Championships and World Games. No official statement from the Lishui organisers on the result was available at the time of writing.
A Bronze Medal Milestone
Joshi’s bronze in the Senior Women’s Classic Slalom adds to India’s growing presence in inline freestyle skating, a discipline built around technical precision, balance and controlled movement through lines of cones. The 21-year-old has already competed at some of the sport’s biggest international stages.
MIT World Peace University records her fifth-place finish at the 2025 Inline Freestyle World Championships and sixth-place finish at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China. Her latest Lishui podium therefore represents another step in a career that has increasingly placed an Indian athlete among the sport’s international competitors.
From Playground To Podium
Joshi’s skating journey began when she was just three years old. In an interview with The Indian Express, she recalled watching older skaters in her school playground and finding the sport “cool and adventurous”. Her mother subsequently enrolled her in roller-skating classes.
What began as a childhood hobby soon became a serious pursuit, with Joshi progressing from district and state competitions to national championships and eventually international events. She has spoken about the discipline required to compete internationally, including adapting to different skating surfaces and carrying different pairs of skates depending on the venue.
Two Sisters On Wheels
Skating has also been a shared family journey for Joshi and her younger sister Swarali Joshi. The sisters began skating together as children, with Swarali initially accompanying Shreyasi to practice before taking up the sport herself.
Swarali has since become a nine-time national freestyle skating champion and has represented India internationally, including at the Paris Slalom World Cup in 2022. In 2026, the sisters also won gold together in Pair Slalom at the Namwon Korea Open, according to the Roller Skating Federation of India. Their story illustrates how a shared childhood interest developed into two competitive sporting careers.
A Breakthrough Year For Joshi
Joshi’s 2025 season established her as one of India’s leading inline freestyle skaters. At the Asian Roller Skating Championships in Jecheon, South Korea, she won gold in Classic Slalom, becoming the first Indian to achieve the feat.
She also won gold in Battle Slalom. MIT-WPU records further international podium finishes at the Chuncheon World Inline Freestyle Cup, Lucas Slalom World Cup in Spain and the Czech Freestyle World Cup. At the 2024 National Skating Championship, she won gold in both Speed Slalom and Classic Slalom.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Shreyasi Joshi’s latest medal is significant not only because it adds another international podium to her record, but because it brings attention to a sport that often receives far less visibility than cricket, badminton or athletics.
Her journey, alongside Swarali’s, shows what sustained training and family support can help young athletes achieve when opportunities are available. Greater recognition, sponsorship and institutional support for emerging sports could help more Indian athletes compete internationally without remaining outside the mainstream sporting conversation. Should India do more to support athletes in lesser-known sporting disciplines?
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