Meet the pedal pusher

Blazing the track

It’s often believed that supreme achievements  start from humble and sincere beginnings. Sandesh Uppar, a 19-year-old cyclist from rural Karnataka, stands testimony to this.

Hailing from Shiggaon district, Sandesh has raced his way to the top in the world of  cycling only through sheer hard work and practice.

His interest in the sport sparked when he was 16 years old. He happened to hear about a cycling event in Vijayapura and wanted to understand more about the sport. This drove him to move there and start training there as some of the best coaches for cycling reside in Vijayapura. “I moved from Shiggaon and was staying on my own for 3 years. I was pursuing my studies simultaneously but would always wait to return home from college as cycling was what I wanted to do. It was very difficult to manage my studies and cycling. I also didn’t have access to the best cycles then,” he recalls.

   However, such challenges didn’t stop him. He would practise in the early hours of the morning, attend college and practise through the evening. The hard work bore fruit as he bagged a number of titles; including six state-level and National-level championships. He is the winner of the ninth edition of Karnataka State Cycling Championship, 2014 and has accumulated 1,200 km of structured training so far. He is currently being sponsored and supported by Giant Starkenn.

Recalling his journey, he says, “I never thought that I would win any medal. I didn’t dream of participating in any championship when I initially started. My aim was only to cycle and have fun while doing it. It was my mother’s support that helped me Shiggaon and realise my dreams.”

He is preparing to attend the cycling camp, organised by the Cycling Federation of India next month. But his dreams lie on a larger scale and the road hasn’t ended yet.

“On a larger level, I am also focussing on bagging a gold medal at the international level. I hope to win in the forthcoming Commonwealth and Asian Games. I just want to see Indians cycling in Olympics again.” Ask him if he believes if it is possible and he confidently agrees. He points out that there is a vast talent pool here. “The only road to improvement is practice. However busy people are, I think they should give some amount of time and commitment to cycling as only then they will be able to improve. I also want to tell people to choose cycles over cars as the benefits are plenty. Support and sponsorship will also help take cycling to a global scale.”