JOIN USDeborah storms into title round
Deborah fought off a keen challenge from Malaysia’s Farihah Sha in the semifinals of the women junior sprint to assure India of a medal in the Hero Asian Cycling Championship at the Indira Gandhi Velodrome here on Saturday.
The 17-year-old edged past Farihah by a mere 0.005 seconds and now faces Korea's Yeonhee Jang, who beat compatriot Sarang Im in the other semifinal. “Today my start was good and I kept a tab on my opponent. I am happy to be in the final. The Korean girl is strong but I will focus on doing my best. I will like to win a gold medal,” said Deborah.
Her performance has ensured her and the country a second individual medal in an Asian meet.
She has a day’s rest in between which would give her enough time to recharge her batteries for the competitions on Monday.
“We have asked Deborah to take full rest before Monday, so that she is ready for the races. We expect a lot from her. Who knows, she may fetch us the first gold,” said team manager S Radhakrishnan. In the 10km women's scratch race, India's Mahita Mohan fizzled out after a promising start while Amarjeet Singh lost to Josiah of Malaysia by 0.038 secs in the quarterfinals of the men’s sprint race. The day was dominated by the Koreans who bagged four gold medals on the third day of the championships.
Pak team arrives
Meanwhile, an eight-member Pakistani team arrived on Saturday. The team, comprising six riders, will compete in the road races beginning at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) from Wednesday.
“We are happy to be in India and we hope our riders will give a good account of themselves,” said a Pakistani team official.
The 34-member Iraq team will also be reaching India on Sunday. “We are very happy that Pakistan and Iraq teams have been cleared for participation. Now, we have most Asian teams participating in the event ” CFI secretary-general Onkar Singh said. The teams from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan had a late arrival because of delayed visa clearance.
The delay drew flak from the UCI and the Asian Cycling Confederation, who have indicated that India might not be given an opportunity to hold international tournaments in the future if visa problems persist.