Greater Noida: Enkhjargal Tuvshinjargal created a piece of history when she won Mongolia’s first-ever gold medal in the Individual Time Trial (Women Elite) event of the Hero Asian Cycling Championship here at the Buddha International Circuit.
But it was Hong Kong’s Yao Pang who stole the thunder - her dream run in India continuing as she bagged her fourth gold today. The 18-year-old, who was equally adept to the road events, clinched gold in the Individual Time Trial with a timing of 19:54.693. Her earlier gold medals came in Points, Scratch and Individual Pursuit races.
Yekaterina Yuraitis of Kazakhstan too proved her versatility as a rider, winning silver to add to the two bronze medals on IG velodrome tracks. She clocked 20:36.01 while Razan Soboh of Jordan took the bronze at 20:40.061.
Geeturaj of India, who is competing in her maiden international event, finished ninth at 22:01.281 out of 13 riders. But she has managed the personal best in the event. “I am happy to have competed among the best. My timing today is the best ever and it was a good exposure to me. I can only improve from here,” she said.
The 20-year-old from Ulaanbaatar who clocked 39:27.303 in the Individual Time Trial, pushed the strong Japanese Minami Uwano and Hong Kong’s Wan Yiu Jamie to the second and third positions. The Japanese finished with a time of 39:30.090 while Jamie was 12 seconds off the Japanese at 39:42.824.
Considering the Mongolian took to cycling just a year ago, the performance at the continental championship was all the more praiseworthy. “I can’t believe I won today. I was expecting a medal but not the gold. This has come as a pleasant surprise to me and my teammates,’’ said Tuvshinjargal.
Describing the course as a steep one, the Mongolian divided her 25.6-km event in three phases, and the strategy seemed to have worked to her advantage. “I raced together with the group up to the 15-km point before breaking for a marginal lead up to the 22-km mark. In the last three kilometers I sprinted to make it to the finishing point. It was a different experience to race at an F1 track for the first time,” said the Mongolian,
“The summer in Mongolia is similar to India, so it wasn’t too tough too adjust here. But from September to February, it is extremely cold, the weather plummeting to minus 20-degree Celsius. I had to practice one month in Korea before the Hero Asian Cycling Championship here,’’ she added.
In fact, Mongolia’s India experience has proved to be lucky as this will be the second time that the nation has won a medal. The first one came during the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi. “We have never won a gold before, this is historic for Mongolia. We love India. It is proving to be our happy hunting ground. I hope we can continue the winning spree,’’ said President of Cycling Federation of India Battur Davaakhun, who is here to watch the races.
India’s Sunita Devi, who competed in the Individual Time Trial, finished 12th with a timing of 42:36.593 while Pakistan’s Sabiha Bibi finished second last at 18th at 48:51.655.
In the Men Junior Individual Time Trial event, Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Rive bagged gold, clocing 36:12.318 while Masaki Yamamoto of Japan finished second (36:24.222). Iran’s Mahdi Ebadallahirafsanjani won the bronze at 37:28.706. Lone Indian Rohit participating in the event finished 11th in a field of 17 riders. Rohit’s time was 39:37.308.
March 13 Results:
Men Junior - Individual Time Trial
Kazakhstan - Dmitriy Rive - 36:12.318
Japan - Masaki Yamamoto - 36:24.222
Iran - Mahdi Ebadallahirafsanjani - 37:28.706
Women Elite - Individual Time Trial
Mongolia - Enkhjargal Tuvshinjargal - 39:27.303
Japan - Minami Uwano - 39:30.090
Hong Kong - Wan Yiu Jamie - 39:42.824
Women Junior - Individual Time Trial
Hong Kong - Yao Pang - 19:54.693
Kazakhstan - Yekaterina Yuraitis - 20:36.01
Jordan - Razan Soboh - 20:40.061.
By Indian Sports News Network
