Manipur’s Ronaldo Laitonjam
Singh has made history for India
by achieving the top ranking in
world junior cycling in three events: sprint, keirin,
and 1 km time trial. He’s also a member of the Indian
team that’s No. 1 in team sprint in the Union Cycliste
Internationale (UCI) rankings.
Ronaldo, 18, is following in the footsteps of
Nicobar’s Esow Alben, who achieved the top ranking
in two categories, sprint and keirin, the previous year.
The two cyclists, along with Rojit Singh and
Jemsh Singh, won a gold medal last August at the UCI
Junior Track Cycling World Championships in
Frankfurt, Germany.
Ronaldo joined the National Cycling Academy in
Delhi at age 16 following a tryout. “The scouts wanted
to test our physical fitness,” he told Express News
Service. “We had to run 1600m, short sprints, as well
as complete a certain set of push-ups and chin-ups.
I actually came last in most events. I was surprised
when I got the joining letter after a month!”
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
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