New Delhi: Cycling Federation of India will host third edition of Track Asia Cup 2016 from 14th -16th September 2016 at the Indoor Cycling Velodrome at IG Sports Complex in New Delhi. The announcement was made during a press conference held at Chemlsford Club in New Delhi today.
The UCI class 1 graded event which in other words is part of the World Championship qualifier whereby points attained by the cyclist will add to the ranking of the individual and thus makes it more competitive and interesting.
The second edition of this event hosted in India in 2015 saw the participation of 11 countries while this time 12 countries will participate including Pakistan. Also, being the host country, India has decided to field one additional team ‘SAINCA’ in this event to give more and more exposure to young cyclists in the country. SAINCA is the cycling Academy being managed jointly by Sports Authority of India and Cycling Federation of India at World Cycling Satellite Centre in cycling velodrome, whereby mostly cyclists from across the globe are being trained.
The event will see total participation of thirteen teams from 12 countries namely Pakistan, Iran, UAE, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Macau China, Malaysia and India. More than 150 cyclists from different countries will compete in this event for the top honours.
Shri Onkar Singh, Secretary General, Cycling Federation of India said, "We have already successfully conducted first and second edition of the event and this time most of the Indian Junior Cyclists are under top 10 in UCI World Ranking. This time Junior Men Team is also ranked no. 1 in World Ranking. This shows the improvement of Indian Cyclists and it happened due to the maximum exposure to our Indian Cyclists after opening of SAINCA ‘SAI National Cycling Academy’ & World Cycling Satellite Centre in New Delhi. Our Star performer Ms. Deborah Herold is ranked 6th and Ms. Anu is ranked 8th in UCI World Ranking and we are expecting a good show from them.
He also said that the preparations are done for the Track Asia Cup and we are expecting a spectacular event this time where in top Asian cyclists will be competing for the Olympic and World Cup qualifications. I would like to wish good luck to all the participants in this event. Our Indian cyclists have worked hard in preparing for this event and I am confident that they will perform well in front of the home crowd. CFI is fully committed to the development and promotion of the sport in India and that is the reason we have decided to field our one additional academy team in this event, so that our cyclists can get more exposure while competing against top Asian Cyclists".
He further informed that this championship (Track Asia Cup) is also very important for Indian cyclists as India and Bahrain will co-host Asian Track Cycling Championship in February 2017 where 31 countries will take part. It is the time when Athletes can judge themselves for a bigger show.
Mrs. Karen O'Callaghan of Australia has been appointed the Chief Commissiare of the event by the UCI (International Cycling Union) while other 30 Indian commissaries and technical officials will be officiating in this Asian Cycling extravaganza.
With the plan to attract more and more spectators to come and cheer the Indian cyclists, the federation has decided that entry to watch the live action will be free for all.
29 Member Indian team to compete in the Track Asia Cup
The 29 member strong Indian team will participate in this event comprising of all the section of ME, WE, MJ and WJ to give a tough competition to the world class teams of Korea, Kazakhstan, Iran and Hong Kong. India's Deborah who had won several medals at the International level is all set to give tough competition to the opponent teams while the Indian sprints boys and girls teams are also ready for making historic wins this time.
Deborah a tsunami survivor from Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been showing consistent improvement in timings. She has constantly being in the camp for the last two years after she was picked up by the CFI as junior and has now risen to be ranked 6th in the world in the time trial events.
Deborah told on the evening that I’m considering on my events and I will perform my personal best in my favourite events ‘Keirin and Time Trial.’ I’m watching myself onto podium in World Championship. The things will easier when you perform at a certain level and I’m sure that I will achieve the standards set by my coach.
The strong Indian junior contingent will also fight for their place at the podium. Sahil Kumar who received Gold at the Asia Track Cup in Bangkok is the best bet in the junior boys while the team sprint team in the girls section is also a great hope for the Indian side.
In all the performance of the Indian team under the able guidance of the UCI’s qualified Chief coach Mr. R.K Sharma will be quite commendable and we look forward much better performance than from the previous years.
SAINCA (Sports Authority of India National Cycling Academy) will also field its team to enable its athletes to give them International Exposure which will build them to perform at International level.
Other Big Foreign athlete names
1. DANESHVARKHORRAM, Mohammad - Men Elite – Iran
2. ALI ASKARI, Ali - Men Elite - Iran.
3. YURAITIS, Yekaterina - Women Elite – Kazakhstan
4. MOHD ZAMRI, Eiman Firdaus - Men Elite - Malaysia
5. MOHD ADNAN, Farina Shawati - Women Elite -Malaysia
6. FEDROV, Ruslan - Men Elite - Uzbekistan
7. HSIAO, Shih Hin - Men Elite - Taipei
