Fresh from their exposure at the World Championship at Belarus last month, Indian cyclists will look to put up a solid display when they line up along with Asia's best riders in the Hero Asian Cycling Championship to be held at the national capital from March 7 to 17.
For India, the biggest hope will lie on the dynamic quartet of Chandrasekar Rajesh, Amarjit Singh, Amrit Singh and Bikram Singh, who created a little piece of history by qualifying for the World Championships for only the second time ever following their participation in the event in 2012.
Never before a cycling event of this stature in terms of participation has been held in the country as the prestigious event will witness close to 800 riders, including 49 Indian riders and half a dozen Olympic medallists, from 29 countries vying for the top honours.
One of India's bright hope in cycling, C Rajesh did not even know he was ever going to walk again, leave alone ride a bicycle after a fatal head injury during a training session last year.
He was in coma for almost six months before reviving his chances in cycling, thanks to his father's support and encouragement.
"When I suffered the injury, I did not have any hope about ever racing in the future. All credit to my father for inspiring me to make a comeback," says Tamil Nadu's Rajesh, who had slipped into a coma 10 days after the injury.
When everyone had lost hope of his comeback, the Cycling Federation of India came to Rajesh's aid by chipping in and footing his medical bill.
President, Organizing Committee, Hero Asian Cycling Championship, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, said: "It just goes to show the fighting abilities of our riders like Rajesh. We want more and more cyclists from India to take to the sport. Rest assured, we will be supporting them in every way possible. We hope Indian cyclists will start winning medals for India soon at the international meets."
Incidentally, Rajesh became the first cyclist from India to qualify for the World Championship at Minsk in an individual event (Scratch Race).
