Cycling has evolved largely from being a thing for the necessity of transportation to be one of the coolest sports in the arena of outdoor sports. And these cyclists are making us proud!
The Cycling Federation of India has managed to build up a very diverse and competitive breed of the community for whom cycling is more of a passion than being a hobby. In terms of the national and international feats here are some of the big names of cycling.
Rameshwori Devi
This lady is a 40-year-old cyclist from Manipur and has won at least over hundred medals in her life. She is not only a mother but a national level cyclists and a CID officer at the same time. Like many Rameshwori Devi, switched many times from cricket to basketball to triathlons before focussing solely on cycling.
She is an inspiration to anybody who thinks balancing is an act of the experts only, she clinched 56 Golds and 15 Silver medals in National Meets. And, she is equally impressive in the international arena with at least 5 Golds and 2 Silvers.
Sreedhar Savanur
Sreedhar belongs to a family of farmers, but that did not let him give away his dreams of playing for his country. He has won nine gold, five silver and six bronze medals.
The Karnataka State Government has awarded him the Eklavya Award in the year 2013. He had been a racing champion for three years on a trot and works for the Railways to support his family.
Deborah Herold
Anything is possible for a girl who survived a Tsunami hanging on a tree. Deborah was a girl aged nine when the tsunami hit the Andaman and Nicobar islands, her family washed away but she stuck to a tree for a full day to survive the calamity.
Today she is a blade runner cyclist after her training in Sports Authority of India, Port Blair. She won multiple Gold medals besides Silver and Bronze medals etcetera and has set an example for many to follow.
Bikram Singh
Bikram is a high octane athlete from Imphal who switched from soccer to cycling. His choice of picking up a sport like cycling was for the reason that he wanted to be in an individual sport rather than being part of a team player. He had won at least 30 Gold medals, 15 Silver and 16 Bronze medals. Besides balancing between sports and his job he is also trained to be a sports coach.
Amrit Singh
He is one of the rarest of the rare gems to be qualified to represent India in cycling in the arena of World track Cycling championship in the year of 2012. So far he had won 34 Gold, 11 Silver and 3 Bronze National and continental medals. After his father’s demise, he shouldered the responsibility of his family.
He has worked in Railways to support his family. He was 8 years old when he started cycling as a career. He had been part of Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala.
Conclusion:
Cycling is more than just a sport and we should appreciate the cyclists who took a step ahead and made India proud.
