Cycling to success

Hard work, patience & no shortcuts help Swasti Singh to carve a niche for
herself as a cyclist of national and international repute.

India’s cycling champion Swasti Singh—who clinched gold at the 37th National
Games in Goa—had always dreamt of putting India on the map in track and field. As
a child she desired to carve a place for her in the highest echelons of India’s sporting
history. But, her potentials weren’t revealed until she was in class VIII. Not just to
the world, but her skills were latent to her own self as well. Thanks to a circular that
was issued in her school—Kendra Vidyalaya, Rourkela—in 2015, she took the first
step towards her sporting career.

The circular had stated that there would be a track cycling state meet in Odisha’s
Cuttack, some 300km from the steel city of Rourkela where Swasti lived. Along with
two other girls, she went to give it a try. To her surprise, all other participants were
boys. Unfazed and determined, she got selected for participating in the state meet
at Cuttack. She tasted success for the first time there as she bagged five gold
medals. This victory lifted her spirit and she decided to never look back again.

After her initial success, she was also encouraged by her coach, Sushil Kumar Das,
to put her heart and soul into cycling. And, her next stop was the 23 rd National Road
Cycling Championship at Kurukshetrain in 2018. She went on to win her first
national medal in the 15 kilometre individual time trial event.

At the age of 17, Swasti won her first international gold medal in the junior women’s
2 kilometre individual pursuit event of the 5th Asian Cup Track Cycling held at
Talkatora Velodrome in New Delhi.

In 2019, she created a new national record of 2:35:161 seconds by beating her own
previous record of 2:37:00 seconds to win a bronze medal in the 2-kilometre
individual pursuit event of the Track Asia Cup Cycling Championships.

She also won silver at the women’s individual road race event at the 13th South
Asian Games in Kathmandu. At the Khelo India Youth Games 2020, Swasti bagged
two gold and one silver in the U-21 girls’ category. Her achievements are an
outcome of all her hard work. Regardless of the time of the year, she pedals for 90
to 120 km every day for practice, on track as well as on the roads. Besides, she also
works out at the gymnasium.

“I devote at least six to seven hours a day to my practice session,” she said, while
talking to the Sports Science India (SSI) on the sidelines of Odisha’s first Sports
Science Conclave, held on December 16 at Kalinga Stadium. The cyclist was
awarded the SSI Emerging Player award at the conclave. She is also the recipient of
Ekalavya Purashkar and Biju Patnaik Sports award.

When it comes to the challenges she faced, Swasti said much of it was because our
country lacks proper infrastructure for cyclists. “Be it for recreation or professional
sport, a cyclist is not safe on Indian roads and lacks proper infrastructure for
practice. In Delhi, I have the facilities for practice now at the Velodrome. But, back
then in Rourkela, I had nowhere to practice except for the roads, which were
dangerous,” she recollected.

In 2017, she met with an accident at Rourkela during a practice session prior to a
cyclothon. “My eyes were injured in the accident. But, I wasn’t bogged down. I
participated in the cyclothon and won it,” she said. For youngsters who want to take
up cycling, she feels hard work and patience are the most essential qualities to be
nurtured. “It may take years to get success. So, you have to be patient and practice
every day,” she signs off.