Odisha internationals Swasti Singh and Dinesh Kumar made the State proud by winning team bronze medal for India on the opening day of the 41st Senior Asian Track Cycling Championship at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi today.

Swasti won the bronze in Elite Women 4km team pursuit, clocking 4:44.699s. Other three cyclists of the four-member Indian team were Chayanika Gogoi, Meenakshi and Monika Jat.

This was the first-ever medal for the Indian senior women team in any Asian Track Cycling Championships. Gold and silver in the event were won by Korea and Kazakhstan respectively.

The Indian senior men team, featuring Dinesh Kumar, Vishwajit Singh, Venkappa Kengalgutti and Anantha Naraynan also secured bronze in 4km Elite team pursuit. The Indian riders finished the course in 4:07.901s. Japan and Korea claimed the gold and silver respectively.

Both Swasti and Dinesh belong to Rourkela and were groomed by former international cyclist-turned-coach Sushik Kumar Das. Both the Odisha cyclists have been training at the SAI National Cycling Academy in New Delhi.

Cyclists from 15 coutries are trying to improve their ranking en route to qualify for World Championships and the 2024 Paris Olympics. India bagged as many as four bronze medals in senior category on the opening day. Other two broze medals were secured in team sprints.

The 28th Junior Asian Track and 10th Para Cycling Championship are also being held simultaneously in New Delhi. Indian riders won six medals (one silver and five bronze) in the junior category.
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PHOTO: Odisha cycling internationals Swasti Singh and Dinesh Kumar display their Asian Track Championship bronze medals in New Delhi on 18 June 2022.