When you think about professional cycling, vivid images of the Tour de France and Olympic events immediately come to mind. However, it is a village around 30 km away from the India-Pakistan border that is looking to highlight the sport’s grassroots-level penetration.
Check-I-Kawoosa, a village often crossed by the Indian Army en-route the border, has just produced its first state, national and international level athlete. The on-going Track Asia Championship in New Delhi saw Akber Khan become the first ever cyclist from Kashmir to represent India.
Participating in the team sprint event, Khan guided India to a fifth place finish. Despite not being able to medal, the Kashmiri's journey so far is symbolic of the spirit of sport in India.
Born to rice farmers, Khan had no idea about the existence of cycling as a sport. His father had bought a cycle to run errands for their farming plot. Khan recollects, “When I began no one from my village had an idea about the sport, I used ride it to do work.”
Following the process of natural progression, Khan and his friends started racing each other. The competitive nature of these races led to an increase in the distance. Soon, Khan was cycling close 80 km a day, not only to run errands, but also to test his own ability.
Started off with a Rs 3,000 cycle: Khan
Khan says, “It started off with a ‘desi’ Rs 3,000 cycle, it was not necessarily built for such distances, but it had become my passion. Whenever there was work related to travel, I used to volunteer. My parents were also happy.”
After learning about the competitive acceptance of cycling, Khan travelled to Srinagar. During his time there he came to know about the State Federation. After a few months of research, he came to meet Riyaz Ahmad Wani, who represented the state in six different sports, including cycling.
This was the point when Khan started streamlining his talent towards the sport. After months of participating in local tournaments, his talent was spotted by J & K Bank. The 26-year-old began his professional career in 2009 with road-cycling races.
Longer distances involved more focus on endurance and strategy. The format proved to be very fruitful for Khan. He said, “I was the sprinter in my team, we generally have four member teams. So my basic job was to win the race in eventual stages. We thrive at the end of the gruelling race, when we have to hit top speeds.”
Khan showcased his pace at the 2014 National Road cycling event by clinching gold. His pace was spotted by National Coach R K Sharma, who immediately roped him in for a seventh month national camp.
Khan added, “From 2009 to 2014, I didn’t have a good bike, I used to mostly participate with Indian cycles. Thanks to Mirza Sons and the National/State association, who sponsored me. We don’t have any Sports Authority of India or a setup like that.
“I have an education, hence I could venture out and spread the word in my village, which now has interest. Just imagine if people from the region were educated about sports. People like Parvez Rasool and me have the responsibility to tell people about the talent there.”
Historically, cycling has never been an integral part of India’s sporting landscape. Yet, it finds talent from the unlikeliest of places. Taiwan Cup winner Deborah Herold hails from the Andaman and Nicobar islands, a place which hasn’t traditionally produced prolific talent.
The credit for such penetration goes to the Cycling Federation of India. Small set-ups within every state have seen them nurture pre-existent talent. Khan says, “Considering my background, I could never imagine representing India, I didn’t even know what the sport was. They supported me ever since I needed a foreign bike. They knew I have some potential and gave me the chance to groom. You can see so many cyclists from around the country.”
However, the Delhi-based cyclist admits that the political unrest in his village is a major deterrent. He says, “If you go to my village you will see so many enthusiastic and talented cyclists, but when will they practice, four days in a week there is a curfew. No one can leave their house. It is a big problem. No training, all self-sustained. I had luckily done my BA Physical Education, this helped me learn about different things related to the sport.”
Political unrest is a massive barrier in Kashmir: Khan
He has channelled his cycling education to members within his village. Now, Check-I-Kawoosa is considered the cycling capital of India. Khan says, “Me and a few friends have bought 20 cycles for young village kids to practice. They practise all formats so that they can represent the state in the future. However, the political unrest is a massive barrier.”
Apart from training the kids, Khan talks about how Kashmiris’ physical attributes can be channelized. He says, “We are all born with a wider and stronger shape. If there is a structure like a SAI etc in those villages, they will find a lot of raw talent. We have to set the benchmark.”
From evading political unrest to sprinting for India’s glory, Khan is attempting to create an ecosystem to channelize the talent pool in his region.
India currently occupies fourth position in the Asia Cup overall standings, with six medals, including one gold. It has been a brilliant performance considering the presence of Olympic cycling stalwarts such as South Korea in the competition.
The tournament has highlighted Indian cycling’s meteoric popularity growth. And Khan’s inclusion within the national team has helped write a new chapter in India’s sporting-political history.
