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On the right track
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The ongoing track cycling championship has good talent on show
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Photo: Mohammed Yousuf
Testing skills Trainees of the SAAP Cycling Academy going through their practice schedule
The SAAP cycling velodrome at the Osmania University campus is a beehive of activity since the 61st senior, 38th junior and 24th sub-junior national track cycling championships are in progress. About 500 cyclists from 21 states and four departmental
units from across the country have assembled at the venue in Hyderabad to test their skills against one another and the competitions so far have been very well fought.
The organisers are keen to conduct the meet in a grand manner and make it a roaring success especially since the Cycling Federation of India has allotted the meet to Andhra Pradesh after a gap of a few years. As expected, cyclists from Punjab Police, Railways, BSNL, Punjab, Rajasthan and host state A.P are doing well.
Andhra has produced some good cyclists in the past and there is ample evidence that the talent pool is still there. Some of the state’s most talented youngsters are often picked up by various institutions for employment. But the hitch is that thereafter they are no longer eligible to represent the state. While employment opportunities are provided to the cyclists, the negative aspect of the situation is that the state bodies lose out on the youngsters who have been spotted and groomed by it.
Former cyclists and officials who are hoping to promote the sport and develop talent feel that the best solution would be if private organisations based in Andhra Pradesh provide jobs. Then only can the state’s cyclists represent their state and win medals for it at national meets.
Moreover the sport has become more broad based now. There was a time when the top cyclists came only from the cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad. But now, there are a lot of talented youngsters from the districts of Guntur, Visakhapatnam, Warangal and Karimnagar.
But lack of good infrastructure in the districts continues to be a problem. In Hyderabad, this velodrome which was built just before the 32nd National Games in 2002 is proving to be a big advantage. Several important meets have already been conducted here. But there is a dire need to provide top quality infrastructure in the districts if the talent pool has to be utilised to the hilt.
There was a time when A.P used to produce some of the best cyclists in the country but now with academic pressure on young students most parents hesitate to allow their children to take up a sport which may or may not fetch rewards. This too has reduced the inflow of talent into the sport and those who do take up the sport need all the encouragement that they can be given.
ABHIJIT SEN GUPTA
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