The Hindu : Sport / Cycling : Little-known academy pulls off stunning results

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Thursday, May 03, 2007
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Sport - Cycling

Little-known academy pulls off stunning results

A. Joseph Antony

G. Chandra Reddy. — PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU.

HYDERABAD: Local trains zoom past the Osmania University Arts College railway station. Many miss the imposing Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) velodrome that stands tall beside it. As for the SAAP Cycling Academy that's in the premises, few would have even heard of it.

Making its presence

And yet, since its inception in 2000, its cyclists have brought home a whopping 82 medals; 31 gold, 30 silver and 21 bronze. Punjab, hitherto the unchallenged cycling power-house, has begun to face some resistance from AP now.

Mentoring his wards from scratch to such splendid achievement has been the soft-spoken chief coach G. Chandra Reddy.

"Most newcomers to the academy would just have known how to cycle, without any exposure to competition or scientific training," he says.

So from physical conditioning to training, the task of moulding the budding pedal-pushers was Reddy's.

The results, rarely publicised properly, were striking. For instance, the AP squad clinched the sub-junior team title with an 11-medal haul at the National Track cycling championships in Bijapur, Karnataka last June. The run-up to that event was not without its share of hitches.

The Bijapur competition, unlike national championships generally held between October and February, was scheduled for June, an off-season time for cyclists.

The chief coach had to summon his boys, who were away for summer vacations, and hold a camp in May in the searing heat.

In November, the Road Nationals were held in Jabalpur, where J. Nishanth Kumar had a golden double in the 7.5 km individual time trial and the 30 km mass start. J. Lohith finished third to Nishanth in the former event.

Nishanth, an under-15 category competitor, went on to claim gold in the under-17 section 30 km mass start as well.

In the all-India inter-varsity championships at Patiala a fortnight later, the trio of V. Srinu Kumar, K. Dharma Teja and R. Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy claimed the 1000 m Olympic team sprint bronze. In the National Mountain Bike championships at Thiruvananthapuram, AP retained the sub-junior team championship, its haul comprising two golds, two silvers and a bronze.

Rich haul

Nishanth won the 12 km mass start gold in the under-15 category, while G. Nooka Raju struck gold in the 6 km mass start for boys under-13. At the Guwahati National Games, B. Roopesh and Dharma Teja claimed the 1500 m team time trial silver.

Since June 2006, the total tally from five events is 21 medals (six golds, seven silver and eight bronze). Chandra Reddy believes that the State's performance can get better with fresh talent coming in from the districts.

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