When Shiva Keshavan’s luge broke during training, he thought that representing India for the fourth time in the winter edition of the Olympic Games in the ‘Luge’ event, was over. However, five high profile senior counsels have helped keep his dream alive.

Shiva [pictured], India’s only representation in the Winter Olympics since 1997, has been featured in the Limca Book of Records as the youngest ‘Luge’ Olympian. The event which involves racing a sled against a timer was introduced in the Winter Olympics in 1967.

Lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan after hearing of Shiv’s predicament, spoke to a few lawyers in Delhi who contributed a total of Rs. 4.5 lakh ($9,700). Senior Counsels K.K. Venugopal, Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Rohinton Nariman and Mukul Rohatgi contributed Rs. 1 lakh ($2,100) each while L. Nageswara Rao contributed Rs. 50,000 ($1,000).  

GoSports, co-founded by Nandan Kamath, lawyer himself, having graduated from National Law School of India University, Bangalore represents Shiva. Kamath told Bar & Bench, “All credit goes to Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who took it upon himself to make sure that Shiva got the help he needed. This is, I am sure the first step in the legal community helping the cause of sports.

Gopal Sankaranarayanan said, “Shiva Keshavan's story as an Indian Winter Olympian is unique and he is a great example of what can be achieved with hard work and a will to succeed. When I heard, from my friends at GoSports, about the challenges he was facing, I spoke to a few senior lawyers here in Delhi and they readily took out their cheque books and contributed.  I think it is a wonderful gesture from the legal community towards the development of Indian sport.”

The Winter Olympics for 2010 is scheduled to be held in Vancouver, Canada from February 12.