Home team in rebuild mode as India host Asian cycling
New foreign coach Kevin Sireau, a two-time Olympic medallist, says his target this year is India's qualification for world championships
The Asian Track Cycling Championship at the IG Indoor Stadium starting on Wednesday will provide an opportunity for the Indian team to assess and rebuild.
Esow Alben, Rojit Singh and Ronaldo Singh caused a stir by becoming junior world champions in the team sprint event in 2019. They were seen as talents who can give India a breakthrough Olympic qualification for Paris. However, that opportunity seems to have slipped from their grasp and it is time for them to focus on preparing for the next Olympics cycle.
To start with there are still plenty of positives. From being also-rans in the continental showpiece event, Indian cyclists are pushing hard to finish on the podium. Ronaldo in 2022 became the first Indian to win an individual silver medal at the Asian Track Championships, in the men’s sprint race.
In the same edition in Delhi, the men’s sprint team featuring Ronaldo, Rojit, Esow and David Beckham won a bronze. There was bronze in the men's team pursuit as well. Last year, Ronaldo won silver in the 1km individual time trial at the Asian Cycling Championships in Niali, Malaysia. Also, India's is one of the youngest teams in the world with an average age of 21 years and that augurs well for these talented riders to push for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics qualification.
"I have been here for six weeks, which is a short time to assess the team. This is my first race with the team and it will be a chance to see them during a competition," said India's new French foreign coach Kevin Sireau, a two-time Olympic medallist. "I will work step by step. For this year, my target is qualification for the world championships. Also, for the LA Olympics 2028 qualification, the work has to start now. We will take feedback after one year and see where we stand. I can say that all riders are hard working, they have a strong mind, and seeing their performances I can say they have the talent. With new training methods, they can push more and up their performance."
The championships to be held at the velodrome will see nearly 500 riders from 18 countries. Olympics and world championships medallists will be taking part, eyeing Olympic qualification berths. India will be fielding a large contingent of 42 cyclists.
Cycling Federation of India secretary general Maninder Pal Singh said it was looking to begin afresh.
"In cycling there is no direct Olympics qualification. You have to compete through a two-and-half year period in various world and continental events and garner ranking points. It is gruelling. We are planning ahead for the next Olympics cycle. We took this event because we want to make a fresh start. We will also go for talent hunt next," he said.
"The positive thing is now we are looking for podium finishes in continental meets, which was not the case a few years back when we just wanted our riders to finish their races."
Asked about the reasons why India was not able to crack the 2024 Olympics qualification target, former CFI secretary general Onkar Singh said the pandemic set things back.
"Our juniors lost crucial two years because of Covid. I had to call officials in the North East and Andaman from where our sprinting team members come, to give them an hour a day to train. They got that opportunity after one year. They were demoralised. Their fitness level fell drastically because of zero activity.
"It took some time to bring back that positivity. Now their body language is different and they are winning again. It's a young team and we can only look ahead," said Singh, who is also secretary general of Asian Cycling Confederation.
