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{{short description|Indian luger}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Shiva Keshavan
| image = 2017-12-01 Shiva Keshavan by Sandro Halank–02.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Keshavan in 2017
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1981|08|25}}
| birth_place = [[Manali, Himachal Pradesh]], [[India]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| turnedpro = 1998
| website = [http://www.shivakeshavan.in/ website]
| country = {{IND}}
| sport = [[File:Luge pictogram.svg|25px|alt=|link=]][[Luge]]
| event = Men´s singles
| pb = 134.3km/h
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalCountry|{{IND}}}}
{{MedalSport|Men's [[luge]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|Asia Cup, Asian Championship}}
{{MedalGold|2017 Altenberg|Men's singles}}
{{MedalGold|2016 Nagano|Men's singles}}
{{MedalGold|2012 Nagano|Men's singles}}
{{MedalGold|2011 Nagano|Men's singles}}
{{MedalSilver|2015 Nagano|Men's singles}}
{{MedalSilver|2014 Nagano|Men's singles}}
{{MedalSilver|2013 Nagano|Men's singles}}
{{MedalSilver|2009 Nagano|Men's singles}}
{{MedalBronze|2008 Nagano|Men's singles}}
{{MedalBronze|2005 Nagano|Men's singles}}
}}

'''Shiva Keshavan''' {{postnominal|OLY}} (born 25 August 1981) is a six-time [[Olympic Games|Olympian]] and the first [[India]]n representative to compete in [[luge]] at the [[Winter Olympic Games]]. He set a new [[Asia]]n speed record at {{convert|134.3|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} after beating the previous record of {{convert|131.9|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} and won a gold medal in the 2011 Asian Luge Cup at [[Nagano (city)|Nagano]] in Japan. In 2012, he set a new Asian track record at 49.590 seconds. He is the reigning Asian Champion.

==Career==
Keshavan skied as a child and won the Junior National Ski Championship in 1995 at the age of 14. At the age of 15, he attended a luge camp at his school conducted by world champion [[Günther Lemmerer]].<ref>{{cite web|title=OLYMPICS: NAGANO 1998; Teen-Age Luger Carries All of India|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/03/sports/olympics-nagano-1998-teen-age-luger-carries-all-of-india.html|work=New York Times|date=3 February 1998}}</ref> Keshavan was selected as a promising young athlete and went on to become the youngest person to ever officially qualify for the Olympic Games in luge, attending the [[1998 Winter Olympics|1998 Nagano games]] at the age of 16.

In 2014, Keshavan walked as an [[India at the 2014 Winter Olympics|Independent Olympic Participant]] at the [[2014 Winter Olympics|Winter Olympics]] opening ceremony in [[Sochi]] due to the suspension of the [[Indian Olympic Association]]. However, later on during the Sochi Winter Olympics, Indian Olympic Association made a comeback as a recognized country by the International Olympic Committee resulting in Keshavan competing under the Indian flag.

Beginning in November 2014, Keshavan collaborated with [[Duncan Kennedy (luger)|Duncan Kennedy]] to train for [[2018 Winter Olympics|2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics]]. Duncan acted as Keshavan’s personal coach while leveraging his technical expertise to improve Keshavan’s sled.

Keshavan qualified for his sixth and final Olympics in 2018,<ref name=bhatt>{{cite news|last=Bhatt |first=Gaurav|date=14 January 2018|title=Shiva Keshavan: India's lion in winter|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/sport-others/shiva-keshavan-indias-lion-in-winter-olympics-2018-5023498/|work=[[The Indian Express]]|location=Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India|access-date=14 January 2018}}</ref> where he finished 34th out of 40 athletes in the [[Luge at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Men's singles | men's singles
]] event.<ref>{{cite web|title=Luge Result Men's Singles|url=https://www.olympic.org/pyeongchang-2018/results/en/luge/result-men-s-singles-fnl-000400-.htm|work=Olympic.org|date=11 February 2018}}</ref>

In 2014 Shiva Keshavan became the founder-president of the Olympians Association of India and is committed to support the Olympic movement in India.

Shiva now aims at promoting Winter Games in India, and creating an ecosystem to produce more athletes competing at the highest level.

==Training==
In 2002, the Italian luge team offered Keshavan full use of their coaches and training facilities if he competed under the Italian flag, but he did not take the offer, insisting he wanted to continue representing India.<ref name=starry>{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/01/magazine/winter-olympics-luge-india.html |title= The Lonely, Starry-Eyed Mission of India's Sole Luger |work= New York Times |date=1 February 2018|access-date=1 February 2018}}</ref> "For me the dream was to get the Olympics to my hometown, and that was the only reason I was doing it. To show that we are also here."

Keshavan often speaks in interviews about his struggles to finance his career. Early in his career, he would borrow sleds for his races. After landing in Montreal for the [[2002 Winter Olympics|2002 games]], he hitchhiked to [[Salt Lake City]].<ref name=bhatt /> In 2006, he did not compete for two seasons due to running out of funds.<ref name=starry/> Keshavan gets most of his money from [[crowdfunding]] on the Internet and in the [[2014 Winter Olympics|2014 Sochi games]], his uniform bore the names of 50,000 donors.<ref name=bhatt />

==Personal life==
Keshavan is the son of an Indian father from [[Kerala]] and an [[Italians|Italian]] mother, who met while backpacking in the [[Himalayas]] in the 1970s. His parents run an Italian restaurant in [[Himachal Pradesh]].<ref name=starry/> He was born and brought up in [[Manali, Himachal Pradesh]] and attended [[The Lawrence School, Sanawar]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.india-today.com/ttoday/062000/luge.htm |title= Shiva Keshavan |publisher= india-today.com |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20010224000439/http://www.india-today.com/ttoday/062000/luge.htm |archivedate= 2001-02-24}}</ref> He married Namita Agarwal, a former classmate at school, who is also his sports manager. The couple have a daughter. He studied [[humanities]] and [[political science]] at the [[University of Florence]] and received a Master's degree in [[International relations]] from the [[University of Florence]]. In the training off-seasons, he works at his parents' restaurant named Rose Garden.<ref name=starry/>

Keshavan spends time promoting the cause of winter sports in India; a grassroots level luge camp was held in India by Keshavan in 2009 for young athletes interested in trying the sport.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Indian+luger+Shiva+Keshavan+defines+makeshift+2010+Games/2195118/story.html |title= Indian luger Shiva Keshavan defines 'makeshift' for 2010 Games |work= Vancouver Sun |first= Kim |last= Bolan |date= 2009-11-06 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20091110003912/http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Indian+luger+Shiva+Keshavan+defines+makeshift+2010+Games/2195118/story.html |archivedate= 2009-11-10}}</ref> Ten were selected to form the Junior National Luge team to train in Japan. Since then, around 200 Indian children have attended his training camps, and after retiring from competition Keshavan plans to focus on recruiting new Indian winter athletes.<ref name=starry/>

==Awards and achievements==
* [[Arjuna Award]], Government of India - 2020 - First Winter Sport athlete to win the award
* NDTV Outstanding performer of the year award- winner, 2012
* Asian Luge cup – Gold Medal, 2011 & 2012
* Asian Luge cup – Silver Medal, 2009
* Asian Luge cup – Bronze Medal, 2005 & 2008
* Youngest luge Olympian in history - 1998 Winter Olympics
* First Indian luger to qualify for the Winter Olympic Games

==2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics results==

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Athlete
! rowspan="2"|Event
!colspan=2|Run 1
!colspan=2|Run 2
!colspan=2|Run 3
!colspan=2|Run 4
!colspan=2|Total
|- style="font-size:100%"
!Time
!Rankings
!Time
!Rankings
!Time
!Rankings
! Time
!Rankings
!Time
!Rankings
|- align=center
|align=left|Shiva Keshavan
|align=left|[[Luge at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Men's singles|Men's singles]]
|50.578
|36
|48.710
|31
|48.900
|30
|colspan=2|Eliminated
|2:28.188
|34
|}

==Popular culture==
Keshavan gained some fame after a training session during which he fell off his sled and yet managed to climb back on and complete the run; the video of the training run was shared widely on the internet.<ref>{{cite web|title=Indian luger Shiva Keshavan crashes, then makes amazing save|url=http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/indian-luger-shiva-keshavan-crashes-then-makes-amazing-save?ctx=top-moments|work=NBCOlympics.com|accessdate=7 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Indian Luger Shiva Keshavan becomes overnight Sensation at Sochi|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/02/indian-luger-shiva-keshavan-becomes-overnight-sensation-at-sochi/|work=IANS|publisher=news.biharprabha.com|accessdate=8 February 2014}}</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGrpCM7Liw</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{sports links}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keshavan, Shiva}}
[[Category:1981 births]]
[[Category:Indian male lugers]]
[[Category:Indian people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Lugers at the 1998 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Lugers at the 2002 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Lugers at the 2006 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Lugers at the 2010 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Lugers at the 2014 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic lugers of India]]
[[Category:Lawrence School, Sanawar alumni]]
[[Category:Lugers at the 2018 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:People from Manali, Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award]]

Shiva Keshavan - Revision history

Eldargvj at 16:59, 1 October 2025

imported>Simeon: /* References */ add external links and {{Authority control}}