Tara Prasad was seven when she first stepped onto the ice. For the next decade, figure skating remained nothing more than a recreational pursuit. Today, at 25, she proudly represents India on the sport’s biggest stages.
“There’s obviously a more serious aspect now than when I was a kid. But sometimes, if I’m at an outdoor rink or it’s just one of those random days, when I get on the ice and skate for fun, that same feeling is still there,” Tara tells Sportstar, reflecting on her journey months after making her debut at the Winter Asian Games this year. She finished a creditable eighth out of 24 finalists in Harbin, China.
Tara comes from a family of athletes. Call it serendipity or not, her mother, Kavitha Ramasamy, was also seven when she first found her calling — in athletics. Kavitha, whose 87-year-old father, V. Ramasamy, still competes in Masters athletics events, admits she’d choose hurdling or long-distance running over putting on a pair of skates any day.
“Skating isn’t just about going to the rink. There’s nutrition, conditioning, massage therapy — it’s the culmination of many sports,” says Kavitha, who once trained alongside the legendary P. T. Usha at the 1990 Beijing Asian Games camp. “This is totally different from athletics. I’ve tried stepping onto the ice, and it’s not easy for me.”
Go-for-it girl
Born in Iowa, Tara chose to swap her American passport for an Indian one in 2019. The decision, however, wasn’t driven by sporting ambitions — in fact, she had none at the time.
“At that point in my life, I wasn’t serious about sports. The change was because I wanted to settle in India for good. I had no intention of getting on Team USA either — skating was just something I did for fun. It was only after I took a long sabbatical and came back to skating that I considered pursuing it seriously. By then, I already had an Indian passport,” she recalls.
That break came between the ages of 16 and 20, when academics took priority over sports. Though she continued to follow the sport from a distance, it was the dream of competing in major championships — and believing she could — that eventually drew her back to the ice.
Her mother calls her a ‘go-for-it girl’.
“If she decides to do something, she won’t give up easily. She’s very creative, and it’s hard to understand her mind because it works so fast [laughs],” says Kavitha. Not stubborn — just determined, maybe. That determination shone through during one of Tara’s toughest challenges: battling Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).
“I was fainting a lot. It cost me a season. That’s why, last year, I started competing later than everyone else — I had to take a long break,” Tara says.
Since adopting Indian citizenship, Tara has earned considerable media coverage back home, including praise on social media from industrialist Anand Mahindra.
But fame brought its own set of challenges. “After the Asian Games and the Four Continents Championships, when I got a bit of public attention, there was also a rise in online abuse. I’m not sure if it affected my personal visibility, but I do hope it brought more attention to winter sports,” she shares. “It was just your average trolls — but you know how they can go to extremes. It ranged from mild insults to death threats.” But Tara remained undeterred.
“I chose this path knowing the challenges. I won’t give up,” she wrote on Instagram. Above all, she just wants to skate.
Tara’s many hats
Yet, the Computer Science and Machine Learning student at the University of Colorado is much more than just a figure skater.
If someone were to visit Tara’s own website and navigate to the ‘Fun Facts’ section, they would find four aspirations standing out: help develop figure skating in India; travel and explore the world; own a business; climb the Diamond Face of Long’s Peak.
“I hope my performances are helping to grow figure skating in India,” she says. “The rest are just things I want to do in life. Climbing will have to wait until I’m done skating, because that’s a tough challenge — especially that particular route — and it takes serious training. And yes, I’d love to own a business and be financially secure.” Tara’s entrepreneurial spirit shows in unexpected ways: she loves making hot sauces and is currently experimenting with a recipe that blends Indian flavours.
Beyond her main Instagram account, she runs two more — one dedicated to her beloved 1997 Mazda M-edition Miata, and another chronicling her climbing exploits.
“Climbing is kind of a weekly hobby for me. It’s a way to make friends outside skating,” she says. She also enjoys hiking, which doubles as cardio training.
As for skating, Tara creates her own routines and designs and sews her own costumes. In figure skating, she explains, choreography and costumes must complement the music’s theme — a task she embraces with ease.
In the past, Tara has performed to Indian compositions like Padmaavat’s soundtrack and A.R. Rahman’s Adheeraa, and hopes to incorporate more Tamil music to her routines.
Recently, she’s chosen personal favourites — which explains the recurring presence of Lord Huron’s The Night We Met.
‘Best we’ve ever had’
A three-time national champion, Tara has witnessed a positive change first-hand during her trips to Gurugram’s Ambience Mall for the nationals.
“A few years ago, when I’d walk in with my skates, the mall security had no idea why I was there. Now they know, and are like ‘Okay, you’re going to the rink’,” she smiles.
While Tara clinched two silver medals last year at international tournaments in Iceland and Slovenia, her journey is far from complete. There’s still much left for her to achieve. Former figure skater Ami Parekh once represented India at the World Championships twice — a benchmark Tara now hopes to surpass.
Yet, the secretary of the Ice Skating Association of India, Jagraj Singh Sahney, calls her “the best we’ve ever had”. “The quality of her jumps and turns makes her untouchable.”
Tara’s next big target: securing India a quota spot for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The final chance will come at a qualifying event in Beijing this September. While she doesn’t make promises of creating history, Tara remains committed to the sport. “Whatever happens in this qualification, I will definitely continue skating. I have personal goals that don’t necessarily depend on the Olympics. There’s so much more I want to explore.”
Those personal goals include delving deeper into the artistic side of skating — the part she enjoys most. As Tara continues to scale a new peak nearly every week, she dreams of conquering the greatest one yet: becoming the first Indian figure skater to compete at the Winter Games.
