Good news is pouring in from all over the sports fraternity in India. With Neeraj Chopra acing a world record in javelin throw, the cricket team marking their biggest overseas test victory against the Caribbeans, now we can also boast about the Indian cycling team. For the first time, country’s Junior Men’s Cycling Team has notched up the world number 1 spot in the team sprint event as per the recently released Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) rating.
The Indian team jumped to the top spot directly from the 11th spot with a points tally of 1012.5. They edged out Poland, which stands second with 960 points, followed by South Korea securing 900 points. For a team that entered the world circuit in 2013, it is still an unbelievable feat. In just three years, they are on top of the charts from being 149th. Onkar Singh, the General Secretary of the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) believes the team is really unique because all the 15 players in the squad are from different parts of the country and have been trained under different coaches.
Squad member, Sanuraj has entered the individual top ten rankings in the world in the Keirin event. While the women’s junior team has also improved, as it now holds the 8th position in the world, with team member Anu Chotia’s individual ranking entering the world top 20. From the senior men’s team, Deborah Herold, the cyclist from Andaman and Nicobar Islands remains the best from the country with a world ranking 6. He had reached his career best of fourth in December last year.
Though the team couldn’t make into the Rio Olympics, but they are positive enough about their goal to participate in 2020 Tokyo Games. The Logical Indian wishes the Indian cycling team all the best for the future tournaments.
