Abishek Singh
After becoming the Asian Para-Cycling champion earlier in March this year, city cyclist Abishek Singh’s focus has been on the UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championship in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa. But with his mother, Harbans Kaur, who is a constable with Chandigarh Police, is suffering from illness. Singh also had to take care of his mother between his training schedule.
The 26-year-old will represent India in the Individual time trial 23.3 km and master start events in the World Para Cycling Championships starting Friday. “After I won the gold medal in Asian Championships in Bahrain, my mother suffered illness and I had also to take care of her. I resumed training and prepared for the world championships by training in the hilly areas. The competition is a challenging one as top athletes from all over the world will be taking part in the World Championships. Even in my category, there are cyclists who can ride at average speeds of 41-42 kmph with one leg. During practice, I also met the former world champion from Slovakia here and if I can win a medal here, it will be a confidence booster for me,” said Singh, who will compete in the MC-2 category in the event.
The para cyclist started cycling 10 years ago and was approached by Rakesh Mohindra, president, Chandigarh Cycling Federation, to appear in the trials for Indian team in 2013. The youngster won two silver medals in the 10 km time trial and 40 km mass start event in the Asian Para Road Championships in Delhi and also won the silver in Chandigarh State Championship in 2014.
Singh became the Asian champion in Bahrain in March this year when he clocked the best time in the 12.8 Km Individual Time Trial event with his team-mates Divij Shah and Harinder finishing second and third, respectively. “The Asian title win helped me a lot. I had prepared for the event for a long time and the fact that all three medals were won by India means a lot to me. The Aditya Mehta foundation has been helping him since 2015 and with fellow cyclists like Harinder, I am never short of practice and training. Cycling federation of India has given a good coaching staff and my brother Karanveer Singh also keeps encouraging me,” said Singh who is a part of the seven-member Indian team for the world championships.
With the Asian Para Championships to be held next year and Asian Para Games also to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, next year, Singh is also confident of continuing his fine form. “With less international competitions, we train mostly in India and after the World Championships, I will begin preparation for the Asian Championships where I will defend my title. Next year is also very important for me as there will be Asian Para Games in Jakarta and the Indian team will aim t finish among medals in the event,” said Singh.
