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Declining interest
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Cycling as a sport does not have many takers
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THERE WAS a time when Andhra Pradesh used to produce some of the best cyclists in India. Glen Trevor, Maxwell Trevor, Richard Clark, R.N. Akhtar, Kendall Turner, Russell Turner, Christopher Noguerio and others made A.P. teams a force to reckon with in the Eighties.
However, that stream of talent has declined in recent times. According to Maxwell Trevor, national record holder and winner of more than 250 medals in a career spanning more than ten years, the reason could be that parents nowadays are more insistent that their children pay more attention to studies than sports.
"This problem also exists in my own home. My son Jason has shown a lot of potential at the junior level meets but the decision that my wife and I have to make now is whether to encourage him to pursue cycling or give it up in favour of academics," he says. "No doubt cyclists get jobs in the Railways or other government organisations but one cannot afford to neglect studies. It is more important in the long run."
"Among the youngsters there is a lot of interest in the sport of cycling. Many children particularly in our locality - that is Lalaguda - are avid fans of cycling. And facilities nowadays are far better than what we used to have in our time. We used to practice on the Medchal road. But as everyone knows road cycling is not the correct way to prepare for a track cycling competition. Despite that we managed to win several national titles."
"Now we have this fine velodrome and the SAAP has imported some top quality cycles which are also a big help. In India we do not have the right equipment and even the cycle manufacturing companies are reluctant to go into large scale manufacture of racing cycles because of the low demand."
"Imported cycles may cost between Rs. 1-5 lakhs depending upon quality," says Maxwell. "But in our sport the equipment - that is the cycle (and its parts) play a major role in enabling the rider to perform well. A top quality racing cycle weighs less than three kilos but it can stand the stress of a 70-kilo rider pedalling furiously over several miles. The disc type of wheel which is in vogue now, can also improve the timing considerably. The solid disc eliminates the elliptical flattening of the spokes, which occurs at high speeds. It is not visible to the naked eye, but recording cameras have shown that when a cyclist is going at great speed, the spokes are not strong enough to keep the wheel in a perfectly round shape. There is some amount of flattening and this reduces the momentum. The disc wheel stays in perfect shape and thereby enables the rider to go faster. Moreover the disc wheel does not have any wobble which is another factor that slows down the spoke wheels."
"I feel that A.P. still has a lot of boys and girls who could do very well. But they need guidance and good equipment. The SAAP academy has done a great job. But if the non-academy cyclists were also allowed to practice with the bikes it would further improve standards in A.P.," he adds.
ABHIJIT SEN GUPTA
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