The Hindu : Sport / Cycling : Hard times for Kerala cyclists

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 17, 2007
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Hard times for Kerala cyclists

Thiruvananthapuram: Shortage of cycles and its spare parts are effecting the smooth functioning of the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) cycling centre at Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE), Kariyavattom.

LNCPE houses the State’s only velodrome and the majority of the cyclists in the State are trainees of the Centre of Excellence run by SAI. But the centre has only eight cycles in proper condition to cater to the needs of its trainees. The cycles are of Italian make (Campagnola) which was given to the centre in 1989. Two years ago the centre had 19 cycles which were used by 52 trainees. But the lack of spare parts, which was not available in India, saw 11 cycles being rendered useless.

The situation is so bad that the trainees are now using the same cycles for both practise and training. “It is utter chaos during training as four or five cyclists use the same cycle and for each rider the height of the cycle has to be adjusted. All these adjustments will have an adverse effect on the rider and the cycle,” says Usha S. Nair the coach of the SAI centre.

Despite the shortcomings, the trainees of the centre had done exceedingly well in the recently concluded National cycling championship at Hyderabad. Mahita Mohan, who won five gold medals in the Nationals and other medal winners V. Rajani, Mable Antony and Megha Krishnan, Sayona and Deepa are among the 18 members of the victorious Kerala team who are trainees of this centre.

Poor response

While trainees from other SAI centres in North and North-East flaunt latest equipments, the trainees from Kerala have none of these luxuries. The last time the SAI Centre in Kariayattom got new equipment was in the year 2002 when it got four new wheels. The shortage of equipment was brought to the notice of top SAI officials whenever they visit the college. “We had brought the matter to the notice of the authorities many times in the past. All we got was promises but nothing concrete has taken place so far,” says Usha S. Nair.

The centre needs at least 20 cycles — 10 road and 10 track cycles — to cater to the need of its trainees. With the latest hi-tech cycles costing more than Rs. 1 lakh, the trainees, most of whom come from poor families, cannot afford to buy them on their own. “After repeated request we were sanctioned Rs. 3 lakh but that money is miniscule as we need more than 30 lakh to buy cycles for our trainees,” says Hasrani, the principal of LNCPE. “We are exploring all avenues to get the amount sanctioned. We are hoping for the best,” he says. The trainees and the coach are keeping their fingers crossed hoping that the good show in the recent National meet will open the eyes of the authorities. — Special Correspondent

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