Amarjit aims for success

For Amarjit,participating in an international tournament isn’t something new as he was part of the country’s senior team in the recently concluded World Championships at Minsk,Belarus. But after the Indian team’s luggage was misplaced at the Minsk airport,he was part of the side that finished 13th in the track event. “All of us had lost everything and the temperature was -10 at Minsk. So we were more than happy to finish in the top 15,” Amarjit said.

Asked about India’s prospects in the Asian Cycling Championship,Amarjit was positive that his team could achieve a far better result than in Minsk. “Participants from Iran,Malaysia and other Asian countries are really tough to compete with and I hope we perform to our standards. Training matters a lot and we have been doing that since eight months now,” he said. If he does achieve a medal,it won’t just make Amarjit happy — his entire family of cyclists will be over the moon.

Amarjit’s father Bawa Singh was a national level cyclist. His two maternal uncles too represented Punjab and they were his motivation to take up the wheels. And once Amritsar had its own velodrome,Amarjit decided to listen to his father’s advice and take up the sport full time. “Had my university not built a velodrome,I do not know if I would have become a cyclist,” he said. And not long after he did,the accolades came pouring in,with Amarjit breaking the national record on the track,shaving the 1:12 minute mark by 2 seconds. If that was big,then ensuring that India qualified for the Melbourne Cup last year based on his performance was greater.