Indian cyclists sign off with four medals

Bikram Singh rode on some brilliant skills to win bronze as India bagged four medals on the third and final day of the cycling test event at the Indira Gandhi sports complex here on Sunday.

In the best of three races for the bronze medal in the elite men’s sprint, Bikram lost the first race by a fraction of second to Australian Benjamin Wibberley. But the Manipuri lad came back strongly in the final two races to edge past the Australian in a thrilling finish.

“ I lost the first race narrowly so I was confident about my chances in the final two races,” said Bikram, who had a timing of 12.302 minutes. “ I have been putting in a lot of hard work at the national camp in Patiala and such exposures would surely help us in the Commonwealth Games.

“ The Malaysian team is very strong and they have hi- tech equipments. I hope that during the Commonwealth Games we too have similar facilities,” he added.

Malaysians took the top honours in the sprint race with M Fakhruddin Daud claiming the gold and his compatriot Farhan Amri Zaid winning the silver medal.

Indian women continued their impressive run at the event as Rameshwori Devi won silver in the women’s sprint race while Mahitha Mohan finished third ahead of Rajani Vijaykumari. Chinese Taipei’s Ting Ying Huang, who was also adjudged the best female cyclist at the event, topped the women’s sprint.

In the men’s 20km scratch race, which saw 24 riders on the track, Australian Stephen Hall emerged victorious as only 10 riders could complete the 80- lap race. Hall won gold and was adjudged the best male cyclist of the meet.

India’s Prince HL Hylem’s endurance on the track paid rich dividends as the Keralite grabbed the bronze medal behind Malaysian M Faiz Syarufuddin. While the battle on track was intense, the 24- year- old Hylem rode splendidly in a strong field and there was a time when he was behind the leading pack in the race.

But the Indian did not give up and rode his way back in to the race putting in some great efforts in the final three laps to finish third. “ There was a time when the difference between me and the leading group had become wide but I did not give up.