Former national gold-medallist cyclist works as an ATM guard now

24-year-old Mahadev Kurani alias Madappa, a national-level cyclist from India’s Mecca of cycling- Jamakhandi, who has won four national gold medals, is forced to work as an ATM guard due to financial constraints.

Kurani has to work as a security guard at one of the ATM branches of a nationalised bank in order to pay back the loan that his family had taken to buy his imported cycle from Singapore.

He began cycling at an early age and bought his new cycle in 2007 with a mortgage taken against his family’s acre of land of Rs 60,000.

In an interview to TOI, Kurani said : “What to do ? If I do not work, we will lose the acre of dry farmland that was mortgaged to buy my bicycle. The land is the only hope for my family. Being the eldest, I have to look after my parents, brother and sister. The priority is to settle the loan as the interest piles up by the day. There was a time when I hoped the state government would recognize my achievements, but all I got was disappointment and insults. The creditors are not bothered with all these stories. I simply have to settle the debt or we will lose our land. So I had to join as a security guard.

“I was initiated into the sport by my grandfather when I was in high school,” Kurani said. “He was a national-level cyclist and he motivated me to take up cycling. While in school, I took part in several national and state-level cycling competitions, either borrowing cycles from friends or using an ordinary bike. There are basically two types of events in cycling: Velodrome events and cross-country races. Both require different kinds of cycles. But I used to practice both events on the same bike. It was only when I was selected for the international race in Chennai that I had to buy an imported cycle to stay on par with the competition.

“I did not want to miss out on an international race in Chennai, so I decided to buy an imported cycle by raising a loan,” Kurani said. “When none came forward to give me a loan, I mortgaged the land and bought this cycle from Singapore for Rs 60,000. Every year I had to pay an interest of Rs 18,000 failing which I would lose my land. Initially I began repaying the loan with whatever money I won at competitions. But it was not enough as considerable money was spent on my travel and maintenance of the cycle. In fact, to support the family, my younger brother gave up schooling and began working. We still fell short.”

It wasn’t an easy thing for his family to buy an expensive cycle for him as his father Manik, worked as a peon at an ITI college in Bagalkot.

Despite his troubles, the national champion still wishes to continue playing the sport of cycling. Kurani still manages to cover 150 to 200 kms in four to five hours with a maximum speed of 45 km per hour.

“Meanwhile, I kept winning medals at both nationals and state level events in various states,” Kurani said. “So far I have won four gold, three silver and four bronze medals at the national level besides several state awards.”

During his training days at Sports Hostel in Bijapur, he was provided with a cycle from the government.

“If I had entered any race with that cycle, either I would have fractured a few bones or I would have raced so cautiously that it would not have made any sense participating,” Kurani said. “The bike failed to meet basic requirements for competitions. When they placed the order for the cycles, the authorities showed cycles worth Rs 2 lakh each. What we got was entirely something else. I gave the cycle away to a poor guy in my village, who was beginning to learn the basics of cycling.”

Kurani is even frustrated with his circumstances and believes he could have achieved a lot more had he had a better cycle.

“I have finished fifth in an international event on an entry-level racing cycle,” Kurani said. “If I had an advanced bike I would have definitely made the country proud. But I’m going through such an ordeal for Rs 60,000. Where would I get the money to finance a bike worth Rs 3 or 4 lakh?”