Who is Tara Prasad? Find out about her background
She is India's first international medallist in Figure Skating
Tara recently had to miss the 2026 Winter Olympics qualifying event
Tara Prasad is a 25-year-old US-born Indian figure skater, who recently rose into prominence after winning a couple of National-level as well as International medals in Norway and Slovenia last year.
She took up skating at the tender age of just 7 and though it was initially just a recreational activity for her, Figure skating later became Tara's passion and profession. The sport has well and truly given her the identity she carries today.
How It Started For Tara Prasad?
Tara Prasad's interest in Figure skating wasn't automatic, but generational, given the fact that she comes from a sporting family background.
Her mother Kavitha Prasad, who once trained and rubbed shoulders with the legendary P.T Usha at the 1990 Asian Games camp, admitted that her daughter is brave in a lot of ways as Figure skating is not an easy sport.
Kavitha feels that Skating is not just about going inside an ice rink and skate as there are are a lot more elements involved like nutrition, conditioning, massage and therapy. She believes it is a culmination of many sports.
Speaking from her own experience, Kavitha also claimed that Figure skating was a lot more difficult for her than athletics. That's why she feels her daughter Tara Prasad should get all the credits for choosing to represent India in this sport.
Kavitha Prasad also spoke about her daughter's mental resilience as well as creativity, claiming that if Tara decides to do something, she makes it happen.
The 2 elements - mental resilience and creativity - are major pillars behind the success of a Figure skater and perhaps that is the reason why Tara Prasad is a natural at it.
However, the sport wasn't always her choice and it wasn't before moving to India that Tara decided to take it seriously.
In 2019, she swapped her American passport and became an Indian citizen, after which she took a long break from Figure skating to focus solely on academics from the age of 16-20.
While that break kept her away from the sport for a long time but it also was the time when she decided to pursue Figure skating professionally.
"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." - Tara said in an interview last year.
Since making her senior international debut for India in 2020 at the Polish Mentor Torun Cup, Tara Prasad has went on to compete in 20 tournaments across the globe.
During the 2021/22 season, Tara Prasad claimed a gold medal in her debut Indian National championships and followed up with another 2 first place finishes during the 2022/23 and 2024/25 season.
Internationally, the 25-year-old Iowa-born skater, after finishing outside of top 3 for consecutive seasons, claimed 2 silver medals at the Reykjavik Games in Iceland (2023/24) and Skate Celje in Slovenia (2024/25).
Earlier this year, she also won a Bronze at the Skate Celje competition.
The secretary of the Ice Skating Association of India, Jugraj Singh Sahney labelled her as 'the best India has ever had' after watching her skills at the rink, claiming - "The quality of her jumps and turns makes her untouchable."
The chairman of Mahindra group, Anand Mahindra also publicly praised Tara Prasad on social media after the latter decided to represent India instead of the United States.
Struggles With Injury Crashed Her Winter Olympics 2026 Dream
Despite all the praise and excellence, Tara Prasad, just like any other professional athlete, has struggled a lot with niggles and injuries.
Tara's most recent injury setback, back pain, forced her to withdraw from the qualifying event for the 2026 Milano Cortina, earlier in September.
"I have decided with my coaches and health professionals to withdraw so that I can skate safely in the future." - Tara Prasad said after missing the qualifying rounds in China.
Regardless of her absence in next year's Winter Olympics in Milan, Tara Prasad remains committed to represent India at future international events. Tara's hard work and mental resilience is a great example for budding Indian athletes
