Esther Prasanna Bernard, Current National Skating Champion (Masters Category), Founder of Esther Roller Skating Club (ERSC)

Every day, Mysore attracts thousands of tourists who come to see its renowned landmarks, including Mysore Palace, St. Philomena's Cathedral, and Chamundeshwari Temple – some of Karnataka's most popular attractions.

Born in this city of Sandalwood, Esther found her passion from a very young age.

When she was just five, her mother took her to a nearby park. Children were playing on swings and slides, while some were skating in a corner of the park. Her mother asked her about picking a hobby and she opted for skating without hesitation. Enthralled by speed, she thought that skating would be an enjoyable activity.

She joined a training academy run by coach Ravi Kumar. Within two months, she went on to participate in the Indira Gandhi All India Skating competition. She got a bronze medal.

The following year, she was chosen to participate in the National event in Hyderabad. Her parents went with her to the event. During her performance, she stumbled, fell, and narrowly missed clinching the top position. From that moment on, her father refrained from watching her live performances, believing that his presence might make Esther anxious and affect her performance.

Another year went by filled with intense training. She got two National gold medals that year. And she was only 7.

Her mother Raji Prasanna was extremely passionate about the sport. She would run around the skating rink to encourage Esther. At times, organizers cautioned her mother to avoid running around the rink as it could potentially result in Esther's disqualification.

Back in those days, government financial support was unavailable, and private sponsorship for this sport was nearly non-existent. Coming from a modest background, her father Prasanna Kumar shouldered the entire responsibility for her training.

At the age of 12, Esther joined Vishwamitra Club in Mysore. Under the mentorship of Srikantha Rao, Ex Indian Team Coach, International Level Skater and Ekalavya Awardee; she embarked on advanced training.

The same year, she got selected for her first international event. Even after selection, the skating federation was unsure if she would be able to perform at the big stage. She was closely monitored and provided with extra training.

She allayed the fear of all the naysayers when she became the youngest athlete in the 6th Asia Roller Skating Championship held in Japan in 1995.

Her family lived a life of discipline. Everyone was supposed to finish dinner by 7.30 PM or else risk missing dinner for the day.

Her daily routine began at 5 AM, heading out for skating practice and returning by 8 AM. After getting ready, she would leave by 9 AM for school. Once back from school at 3.30 PM, she would rest for an hour before her evening practice from 4.45 PM to 6.45 PM.

On many days she would return from practice with bleeding knees or bruised elbows. She knew that the sport involved physical injuries, but that never deterred her determination to practice even harder.

However her grandfather was worried about her. He feared that if some serious injury happened during the practice, who would marry her granddaughter. So he wanted her to leave the sport and solely focus on studies.

But Esther was determined to pursue the sport. She was equally good at studies. Her parents also supported her to pursue her passion.

Sridhar Rao, the elder brother of coach Srikantha Rao, mentored 8 skaters with a strong emphasis on discipline, focus, and a competitive spirit. He closely supervised their dietary habits, from breakfast to dinner, and limited social interactions among the students. The primary emphasis was on intensive training.

During the rainy season, the trainees would clean the rink before starting practice. In the evening, they would come back again to clean the rink and practice. There was no excuse to miss training on any given day.

At the age of 22, Esther had 23 National Gold and 100 plus Gold medals to her credit. She also represented India in 3 Asian and 1 World Championship events. 

In the year 2001, she became India’s fastest skater in senior women’s category taking her tally to 25 National Gold medals.

She simultaneously excelled in studies and topped the college during her Masters program.

She was honored with the prestigious Prathiba Puraskar award for three years: 1999, 2000, and 2001.

She got married to Rajesh Bernard in 2005 to start the next phase of life. It was an arranged marriage and her in-laws were not much aware about her remarkable achievements in sports.

Two months into the marriage, her in-laws discovered her professional accomplishments. Her late mother-in-law, Esther Kasturi, and her husband supported and encouraged her to establish a coaching academy. With 40 students on board, she started with Esther Roller Skating Club (ERSC) in 2005.

A year later, Karnataka Housing Board built a skating rink in Bangalore where she continued her further coaching.

Till date she has trained more than 10,000 students. At this moment she is training 120-150 students ongoingly out of which 10-15 students have gone to National Level competitions.

Her student Vanshika achieved the honor of representing India in Ice Skating at the international stage. Similarly, another student, Adarsh, also had the opportunity to represent the country on a global platform. Hemagna has received numerous national medals in both Alpine and Downhill categories.

She also mentors children with special needs on the spectrum, and these children have achieved national recognition.

1. Shubham Banerjee has been selected to train for the Special Olympics. He is also a silver medalist at the National level.

2. Reul Jasper and Rayaansh are National Gold medalists.

She served as the Head of the Skating Department for the Vibgyor group of schools and developed the curriculum for Roller Skating.

Esther remains actively engaged in competitive sports. She secured two gold medals in the masters category in 2022. She currently holds the title of National Champion in the Masters Category.

Esther's two sons, Juan and Ean have participated in KSFA football league as well as National Ice Skating events. Her husband Rajesh is an entrepreneur. Both sons are also keen on learning programming skills from their father. Additionally, Esther's brother, Noel Paul, is a National Level Skater.

Apart from her love for skating, she has a liking for singing and music.

She is the winner of Face of South Mrs India Pride of Nation 2019 contest. Esther was acknowledged with the sub-title of Ms. Goodwill Ambassador.

The Gold Dust:

1. When you are fuelled by passion, you can overcome any challenge. Esther's journey is a perfect example of this.
2. The day when Esther walked along with the contingent of Indian Athletes at the opening ceremony of Asian Championship while the Indian National Anthem was played, it became the most memorable moment of her illustrious career.

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