Cycling: India
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
National track cycling championships
2016
M.R. Praveen Chandran, August 17, 2018: The Hindu
Esow Alban is touted as the next big star of Indian cycling and at the LNCPE velodrome on Saturday, the cyclist from Andaman and Nicobar showed why he is rated so highly. Esow blitzed his way to a new national record in the under-18 boys’ sprint event of the 69th senior, 46th junior and 32nd sub-junior National track cycling championships.
Competing in an higher age category, Esow comprehensively beat his challenger and teammate Arkaprava Baul by half-a-cycle length to win the gold. Esow clocked 11.207s to break P. Sanuraj’s old mark (11.620) which was set in 2015.
This is third gold medal of the meet for the rower-turned-cyclist who trains at the National Cycling Academy in New Delhi.
“I was confident of breaking the record. I was doing well in training. Sprint is my favourite event and I competed in the under-18 section as there was no sprint event in the under-14 and under-16 sections,” said Esow after the race.
Esow’s record was the highlight of the penultimate day’s proceedings which saw Kerala maintain its lead at the top of the points table. Deborah of Andaman and Nicobar renewed her rivalry with Kezia Varghese in the women’s sprint and easily beat the Kerala girl in the two races to decide the gold winner.
With a neck injury preventing her from going all out, Kezia’s chance depended on her start but Deborah’s superior speed proved to be the difference between the two riders. Deborah after trailing Kezia overtook her at the curve to win the gold.
Sanuraj of Services won the men’s sprint event beating Railways’ Amarjeet Singh.
The Kerala women won the 4000m team pursuit event with a comprehensive win over Railways. The trio of Sayona, Amritha and Kezia were consistent even as fourth rider Rejani dropped out when two laps remained in the race. Kerala finished at least 50 metres ahead of its rival to win the gold in 5:37.861s. Railway men won the team pursuit beating arch-rival Services for the gold.
But Karnataka underlined its growing stature in the track events by winning the 4000m team pursuit gold in both boys’ and girls’ sections in the under-18 category.
The State doesn’t have a velodrome but a majority of Karnataka’s cyclists competing here are trainees of the National Cycling Academy and they are behind the state’s success this year. Karnataka with two gold medals climbed to second spot in the points table with 40. Kerala leads the table with 62 points. Manipur is in third with 32 points.
The results: Men: 4000m Team pursuit: 1. RSPB (4:41.040s), 2. SSCB, 3. Rajasthan; Sprint: 1. P. Sanuraj (SSCB) (11.226s), 2. Amarjeet Singh Negi (RSPB), 3. Ramesh Nagarajan (TN).
Boys: Under-18: 4000m Team pursuit: 1. Karnataka (4:54.393s), 2. Rajasthan, 3. Punjab; Sprint: 1. Esow (A & N) (11.207s - NMR; OR - 11.620, P. Sanuraj, Kerala, 2015).
Women: 4000m Team pursuit: 1. Kerala (5.37.861s), 2. RSPB, 3. Manipur; Sprint: 1. Deborah (A &N) (12.456), 2. Kezia Varghese, 3. Manorama Devi (RSPB).
Girls: Under-18: 4000m Team pursuit: 1. Karnataka (5:40.781), 2. Kerala, 3. Maharashtra; Sprint: Shushikala Agashe (Maharashtra) (13.081), 2. Anu Chutia M. (Assam), 3. P. Nayana Rajesh (Kerala).
Internationally
2011: India no. 149 in world
Onkar Singh, Secretary General, CFI said in 2016 “5 years back [in 2011], when we taken over Cycling Federation of India at that time Indian Cyclists were at 149th place in World Ranking but now Indian Cycling has been improved much and most of our riders are Under-10 rank in UCI World Ranking. The day is not so far when we will win the medals in World Championships, he added.”
2018
India’s first ever world track cycling medal
After sprinter Hima Das's historic gold at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships in July, teenager Esow Alben has made the world take notice of Indian cycling this time. On Thursday, the 17-year-old won the country's maiden medal in track cycling at the world level by claiming silver in the Men's Keirin event of the UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland.
Esow was only 0.017 seconds adrift of Czech Republic's Jakub Stastny, who secured gold in the pulsating final few seconds of the race.
"It's a big medal for me and for India too," Esow said after the race. The bronze medal went to Kazakhstan's Andrey Chugay.
"My heartiest gratitude to our coaching department under Mr. RK Sharma and the relentless cyclists who are putting their heart out to achieve what at one time seemed impossible," the Cycling Federation of India's (CFI) secretary general, Onkar Singh, told Timesofindia.com from Jakarta, where he is accompanying the Indian contingent for the Asian Games.
Although, it's a maiden Worlds medal for India in track cycling, Esow's credentials and talent were never in doubt. He became the world No. 1 junior sprint cyclist after a stupendous show at the Asian Track Championships, the 2018 Cottbuser Sprint Cup 2 and GP Brno Track Cycling competitions.
Heading into the finals at Aigle, Esow finished on top in heats during the first round, clocking 10.851 seconds in 200m.
"I just wanted to stay at the front and avoid getting involved in any crashes," Esow, who is a first-year junior and product of the UCI World Cycling Centre here, said.
"I could have won (gold) but I am still happy with a silver. I'm happy that I could win a medal in World Championships,” the teen from Andaman and Nicobar said.
The CFI secretary general also thanked the authorities for putting their trust in the sport and the federation.
“Thanks to all the CFI members and to the Sports Authority of India for their continued faith and support. With God's grace, this journey, which we started four years ago, is slowly but surely taking us to our ultimate goal of excellence. And it continues with bigger hopes and greater expectations. Thanks to everyone who supported us in our mission of excellence,” Singh said.
The team events didn't bring any medal for India, though. The trio of Esow, Mayur Pawar and James Keithellakpam Singh timed 15.957s in 200m and 26.914s in 400m to bow out of the race to reach the finals. Download The Times of India News App for Latest Sports News.
Track Asia Cup
2015: India 3rd
The Times of India, Nov 21 2015
India finish impressive 3rd with 11 medals
India finished their campaign in a creditable third position with an impressive 11 medals, including three gold, three silver and five bronze in the Track Asia Cup cycling tournament at the IGI sports complex, here on Friday . Korea finished at the top with six gold, three silver and three bronze while Uzbekistan secured second spot with three gold and four silver medals.
On the final day , India won two gold and three bronze medals. Young cycling sensation Deborah made a fine start on the final day of the competition by winning the gold medal in the women Elite Sprint event clocking 13.614 seconds to beat Korea's Cho Sun Young (13.704s). Deborah also missed one medal opportunity as she fell down in her favourite Keiren event. On the final lap, she couldn't maintain her balance and fell down on the track and after coming in contact of Deborah, Thailand's Pannaray Ra see also lost her balance and collided. Deborah eventually settled for one gold and two silver medals (including one from team event).
“I am bit upset that I missed medal in one of my favourite event Keirin-WE as I fell down.I could have won one more gold for India and I was leading but unfortunately I fell down and couldn't win the medal. Anyways you improve with every tournament. The overall performance of our team is better,“ Deborah said. In the junior women Sprint finals, India's Nayana Rajesh bagged the gold while Anu Chutia clinched bronze. PTI
2016: India finished second
India grabs 8 medals on the final day of the Track Asia Cup 2016 India finished second in the medal tally with 16 medals including 5 Gold, 4 Silver and 7 Bronze. by
The Women Junior Sprint final saw India bag the first two positions
On the final day of the Track Asia Cup, India has taken home 8 medals including 2 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals at the Cycling Velodrome in IG Stadium today. India finished second in the medal tally with 16 medals including 5 Gold, 4 Silver and 7 Bronze after Hongkong with 18 medals including 11 Gold, 4 Silver and 3 Bronze.
Deborah in her Final Sprint event took the first position, grabbing a gold medal with a time of 12.576 and 12.493 in the first and second round respectively. She beat Zhaojuan of Hong Kong, who went on to take the silver medal, clocking 12.820 and 12.734 in both the rounds respectively.
Kezia Varghese of India was given the fourth in this event.
Deborah lost the gold medal in her favourite event ‘Keirin’ by a whisker and could manage only silver ahead of her teammate Kezia Varghese (Bronze) while two other riders of Hongkong and Malaysia collapsed and fell down after which they were unable to complete the race. Deborah turns out to be the star performer of the event with having 3 gold and one silver medal with her.
In the Men’s elite Keirin event, Indian cyclist Amarjeet Singh fails to win any medal and finished 8th.
The bronze medal was awarded to our Indian cyclist Sanuraj P with a timing of 12.203 and 12.322 in the first and second round respectively. Emerson was at the fourth position with timing of 12.225 and 11.352 in both the rounds.
In the Men’s Junior Keirin, Emerson won bronze medal for India.
The Women Junior Sprint final, however, saw India bag the first two positions adding another gold and a silver to the medal tally. Nayana Rajesh, was awarded the gold medal and was clocked at 12.658 and 12.865 in both the rounds respectively. Anu Chutia grabbed the silver position, with a timing of 12.764 and 13.178 in the first and second rounds.
However the Men Elite Sprint Final could not manage getting any positions in the event.
In the team Elite Women’s team pursuit, India bagged bronze medal comprising Raj Kumari Devi, Bidya Luxmi Tourangbam, Ratuja Satputhe and G Amritha Regunath.
The main attraction of the last day was the point race of 30Km where 14 riders took part together and they have to complete the 120 rounds of the track. However, Indian couldn’t win the medal in this race and Krishna Nayakodi and Ramesh Nagarajan could secure 8th place & 10th place respectively but the stamina and pace maintained by them was amazing and we can hope the medals in future with this event.
2017: India no.1
Rank 1 India Gold 7 Silver 9 Bronze 5 Total 21
Rank 10 Bangladesh Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 1 Total 1
Track Asia Cup: India win seven gold, top medals tally in event |Oct 12, 2017 | PTI
India won seven gold, nine silver and five bronze medals at the Track Asia Cup as they topped the medal tally in the tournament, followed by China.
Indian Cycling team finished their campaign by winning four medals, including two silver and two bronze on final day of the tournament.
China finished second with four gold and two silver medals while Indonesia secured third place with four Gold, one silver and two bronze medals. In the morning session, India juniors Mayur Pawar and JK Ashwin secured silver and bronze respectively in Sprint event.
Mayur clocked 11.045s with a speed of 65.188km/hr, while Ashwin finished in 11.098s with 64.877km/hr speed.
The bronze medal of Women Elite Sprint event was won by P Nayana Rajesh with 11.940s.
Ranjit Singh added a silver to India’s tally after clinching the medal in Men Keirin event. Malaysia’s Muhammad Fadhil won the gold, while his teammate Muhammad Khairil Nizam Rasol bagged the bronze.
In Men Omnium event, Ashton Lambe of USA added a silver to the gold medal that he won yesterday in the 4Km Individual Pursuit event.
Biggest upset for India was when Deborah finished fifth in her favourite event Keirin, even though she secured a berth for the World Cup. In Keirin, out of 5 rounds, in last 2.5 rounds cyclists have to defeat through their speed.
China cyclists Shanju Bao and Chaorui Song claimed gold and silver respectively, while P Nayana Rajesh, who is representing India’s second team ‘SAINCA’ claimed bronze
2018: Track Asia Cup
Opening day: India wins three gold, three silver, one bronze
India impress in Track Asia Cup cycling, September 22, 2018: The Times of India
India secured three gold medals, three silver and a bronze on the opening day of the fifth Track Asia Cup cycling here on Friday. The tournament at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium is being organised by the Cycling Federation of India and has attracted participation from 12 countries.
Bilal Ahmed Dar opened India’s tally with a silver in point race of 15km in junior men category, winning 19 points. Kazakhstan’s Danll Pekhotin earned 22 points and grabbed the gold, while Venkanpa S Kengalgutti of SAINCA’s (India's another team) bagged bronze.
Mayuri Lute won the country’s first gold medal in the women junior 500 metre. She outclassed Thailand’s Kanyarat Hnokaew by clocking 37.538s with a speed of 47.95 kph. Kazakhstan’s Alyona Abramchuk won bronze with 38.628s.
After winning the gold medal, Mayuri said, “There was no pressure on me and I enjoyed the race. This is a good exposure for us, I’m thankful to CFI for organising this regularly.”
In the women elite 500 metre time trial category, India’s M Sonali Chanu (37.140s) had to be contend with bronze, finishing behind two Indonesian cyclists. The Indian men’s junior team performed as expected in the team sprint event, winning another gold by defeating Kazakhstan.
2019
Day 1: India wis 12 medals, including four gold
India pockets 12 medals, including four gold, on Day 1 of Track Asia Cup:
India made a bumper start to its Track Asia Cup campaign winning 12 medals, including four gold, in a complete show of dominance on Monday. It was the the world-class junior team which stood up to the expectations and captured the gold in men’s junior team sprint event. The women’s junior and elite teams also shone and returned with two gold medals. Ronaldo Laitonjam stole the show for India as the junior world champion won two gold medals in one day. He first helped junior men’s team to win the gold in sprint event and then returned to finish the day with the yellow metal in the 1km time trial event at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. Triyasha Paul also won two gold medals on the opening day. She first paired with Nikita Nisha to finish at the top of the podium in the junior women’s sprint event.
