“Instead of giving us money after we win medals, the government should invest in our preparations,” says Arvind Panwar, a cyclist who has bagged the gold medal in South Asian Games held in Guwahati, India in February and currently participated in the World Championship held in Doha, Qatar, UAE.
Arvind Panwar, a 27-year-old employee at Kolkata Eastern Railway, hails from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He started cycling at the age of 16. Being adventurous, he knew that cycling is the only sport that will also help him to explore and travel more without any expense. Also, he wanted to play such sports which were not confined to stadiums or courts. In a quest to explore and stay fit, Arvind started cycling. He says that cycling is a very underrated sport in India and needs to be uplifted with the help of Government and Business enterprises. “Since the cycles we use are very expensive and cannot be afforded by the players, it becomes impossible for the other sports enthusiast to carry on with their dreams.” says Arvind Panwar.
He also appreciates the efforts put by Cycling Federations and says that government should come forward and help these federations in organizing campaigns for the other passionate players in the field. Arvind stayed in Europe for two months on his own expenses just to learn and gather more knowledge about other ways to uplift this field in India. He adds to this and says that the players here are equally capable as other European cyclist and just because of lack of government intervention, they fail to outshine.
“It’s sad to see that most of the people join this sport to earn a daily living rather than inclining towards the passion to bag awards for India. It’s not their fault but because of the lack of positivity and awareness of their background, they fail to realize.” He requests the government to send players outside the country to sharpen their skills or they should ask coaches to come to India and train enthusiasts here.
Currently, he is working hard for UCI world tournament to represent India which will be held next year . He believes that India will outshine again. He is also working for upcoming Track Asian Championship which is to be held in Bahrain in March 2017. He is vigorous to uplift this sport in India and believe he will achieve it soon by sheer determination and hard work. His father is a farmer and supports him in his practices. He also said that his parents are ready to sell off their land just to support him so that he can inspire other cyclist enthusiasts.
