Meet the teenage cyclists from Tamil Nadu racing at the Track Asia Cup

When I was successful school, the schoolhouse celebrities who were usually the athletes, were defined by their absence. They came successful to constitute exams, disappeared again, and returned months aboriginal with medals and accolades we heard astir but ne'er saw earned. Their names travelled faster than they did, and we joked astir however casual their lives indispensable beryllium to skip schoolhouse and play games each day. What we ne'er saw was however overmuch of puerility they traded, and however lonely that benignant of subject tin be. 

At the precocious concluded Track Asia Cup, a UCI Class-2 cycling contention successful Chennai, we met 4 teenage girls who are surviving a mentation of the aforesaid trade-off. Niraimathi Jesudasan, Jai Jyotshna, Thabitha S and Srimathi Jesudasan determination done days divided betwixt early-morning training, self-study done successful fragments, and agelong hours spent with coaches, teammates and competition. Much of their clip is structured, supervised, and purposeful, leaving small abstraction for thing that does not straight service the adjacent league connected the track. 

The Track Asia Cup awards planetary ranking points towards their Olympic campaigns and features riders from crossed Asia. Track cycling is raced connected steeply banked oval velodromes, wherever rankings are decided by margins of clip and position.

“We travel from a precise mediocre background, each our equipment, shoes, and cycles were fixed to america by Kanimozhi ma’am (Thoothukkudi MP, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi). The much medals we won, the much she helped us, truthful we got the assurance to support going,” says Niraimathi Jesudasan who hails from Thoothukkudi. Niraimathi fared good nether the Women Elite - Time Trial class finishing 1km astatine 1 infinitesimal 24 seconds successful this tournament. “It is hard erstwhile I vie with seniors, but this is my archetypal twelvemonth competing successful the elite category, and I’m enjoying the difficulties,” says the 19-year-old.  

Her older sister, Srimathi Jesudasan besides fared good successful 2 categories; Women Elite - Keirin, and Women Elite - Sprint. “My begetter was a tailor and we went done a batch during the pandemic. I participated successful the Thoothukkudi territory championshiop for cycling and won a golden medal aft lone grooming for a fewer months, and the much I trained, the much medals I won. I person astir 20 medals successful assorted championships now,” she says. 

“When I lived successful Coimbatore, a mud tracked opened adjacent my house, and I lone had an MTB motorcycle then. I participated successful the nine contention and came successful 3rd without immoderate practice. This motivated my parents to find a manager who tin assistance maine hone my skills, and I started grooming seriously. I past participated successful roadworthy cycling, and yet started way erstwhile we moved to Chennai,” says 18-year-old Jai Jyotshna A, who came successful 5th nether the Women Junior - Sprint class astatine the Asai Cup. “I bid from 9am to 11am, past aft luncheon I survey for exams due to the fact that I’m successful 12th people now. I walk each my remainder and betterment clip studying, and past spell backmost to training,” she says. She is presently successful Delhi NCOE campy grooming for aboriginal championships. 

The golden medal victor successful Women Junior - Sprint category, Thabitha Shaffi, is an wide sports enthusiast. A kabbadi player, and athletics enthusiast, she participated successful immoderate sporting lawsuit she could get her hands on. “I participated successful a section cycling race, and came successful 4th presumption and the manager encouraged maine to bid much and absorption connected cycling. I was asked to discontinue kabbadi due to the fact that of the precocious hazard of injuries, truthful I discontinue that and focussed connected roadworthy and way cycling more. I went to my archetypal nationalist campy successful Hyderabad, past to Kerala,” she says. Over the years, the 18-year-old has won respective medals including a metallic medal astatine the Khelo India Youth Games held successful Bihar successful 2025. 

The outdoor cycling track, the SDAT Velodrome successful the TNPESU campus, wherever the title was hosted, was built with planetary title standards successful mind. It was renovated to standards during the Khelo India Youth Games successful 2023. “The entree to sports has been made casual successful the past fewer years. Since the TN Government has enactment effort into processing the infrastructure, young athletes consciousness motivated to enactment more,” says M Sudhakar, President of Tamil Nadu Cycling Association (TNCA). 

For each 4 of them, determination is small consciousness of arrival. Training resumes the adjacent morning, studies proceed successful the margins, and competitions travel and go. “I started cycling astatine this precise track, and to enactment successful an planetary lawsuit astatine the aforesaid way is simply a infinitesimal of pridefulness for me. This is the beginning,” says Thabitha.