Cycling
Forget Cristiano, this Ronaldo has created Asian cycling record
While a spectacle of Ronaldo action for soccer fans is one to savoured, Indian cyclist Ronaldo Laitanjam seems to be retaining the hysteria around his first name quite well.
While a spectacle of Ronaldo action for soccer fans is one to savoured, Indian cyclist Ronaldo Laitanjam seems to be retaining the hysteria around his first name quite well. There seemed to be no stopping the Indian cyclists as they continued justifying the favourites tag even on the second day for the 2019 edition of the Track Asia Cup cycling tournament.
This time it was no Esow Alben but a valiant Ronaldo that lured eyeballs and kept the entire nation on the edge of its seats. India showcased glimpses of dominance at the velodrome at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi yesterday. Ronaldo raced to an inimitable glory as he broke the Asian record of men’s junior 200m time trial event in the qualifying stage. He then clocked an impressive 10.065 seconds and beat the previous record by Liu Qi of China, with a timing of 10.149 seconds the last year.
It was like brimming with pride for Ronaldo’s coach RK Sharma as he showered lavish praises on the Indian squad. “Juniors are doing well and many more records will break in the coming years. The team is preparing hard and results are coming.” The medal rush continued to shower its glory upon Indian cyclists, as India added as many as eight medals to their name on the second day of the tournament.
The 17-year-old Ronaldo showcased glimpses of his vintage self as he led the race to make an exit with an eye-popping podium finish. To add another medal in India’s favour, it was Rojit Singh who bagged a silver medal, while the bronze was claimed by Kazakhstan’s Alexandr Safarov. Although Ronaldo was the cynosure of all eyes, two-time junior World Championship medallist Esow Alben was not too far from the limelight. He finished behind Hong Kong’s Tsz Chun Law in the qualifying stage but avenged it in style in the final. Besides, Venkappa Shiv Kengalgutti made the most out of a memorable day for India as he won gold in the junior men’s 3km individual pursuit, clocking a phenomenal 3:03:106 minutes.
Speaking to the Sportstar, a jubilant Ronaldo said, “Qualifying for the finals was in my mind but when I saw the scoreboard, I was surprised and happy.” The junior world champion team guided their way to set an Asian record in men’s junior 200m trial event, only to win a gold medal in the junior men’s sprint event at a later stage.
India’s second team, SAINCA tried matching colours with India, as they finished with a silver medal. The duo of Triyasha Paul and Nikita Nisha continued their stupendous run on the second day of the event, as they added two more medals to India’s tally. Punam Chand suffered an upsetting defeat at the hands of Malaysia’s Mohammad Zamri in the elite men’s 4km individual pursuit event and settled for silver instead. The women’s 3km individual pursuit race witnessed double delight, as India settled for a silver-bronze finish in the end.
