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Biking his way to glory
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Mudam Suresh is working hard to prove his mettle in the sport
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Mudam Suresh
That the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) Cycling Academy has become a rich source of talented `pedal-pushers' is a foregone conclusion. But tucked away inside the greenery of the verdant Osmania University campus, the well-maintained velodrome is just the training ground cyclists need to glide their way to glory.
Over the years, cyclists from the state are increasingly making their presence felt at the national level, challenging the domination Punjab held hitherto. Though physically not much of a match for the strapping cyclists from the northern state, the boys and girls from Andhra Pradesh are doing their state proud.
Their reliance on skill and scientific training, monitored closely by SAAP's dedicated chief coach Chandra Reddy and the academy's Administrator, Harish Mulay, has paid off.
If a tree is known by its fruit, the string of successful cyclists from this academy will stand up to any scrutiny on its effectiveness. One such wheeling wizard is Mudam Suresh, who burst onto the national stage with a silver in the boys under - 16 years 1500-metre team trial at the Bikaner, Rajasthan, National track championship in what was the second competition of his life. From that rousing 2001 start, the 19-year-old's career graph registered a steady rise. Three months later, at the state inter district championships, Suresh clinched the boys under 16 years 20 km mass start gold at Warangal. In August that year, he claimed two bronzes in the 500-metre time trial and 1 km mass start.
A sterner test came his way in November 2003 during the National track cycling championships at Ludhiana, Punjab and he acquitted himself quite honourably. Competing this time in the boys under 18 category, he rode away with the silver in the 15 km point race and a bronze in the 6 km mass start.
His richest harvest of medals came on home turf at the SAAP Academy Velodrome. In November 2004, during the National track cycling championships, he zoomed away to silver in the under-18, 4 kms pursuit and the 1 km Olympic sprint. Completing his haul was a bronze in the 1500 m team time trial.
That his performances were consistent was proved by his success at the intermediate level too. In the Chennai South zone championships last year, he grabbed the gold in the 40 km mass start and the silver in the 40 km road team time trial. A measure of the youngster's growing stature was his inclusion in the National camps at Anandpur Sahib and Patiala from June to September 2005. Look out for Suresh, for he's bound for bigger achievements in the months to come.
A. JOSEPH ANTONY
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