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New Delhi, 11 December 2015: India’s cycling sensation Deborah Herold created history by improving her ranking to World Number 4 in the UCI ranking released on Friday, becoming the first ever Indian to achieve this mark. Deborah, who was ranked 10th just before the recently concluded Track Asia Cup in New Delhi, had won one gold and two silver medals in the same event, which helped her to improve her ranking.
The 20 year old, from Andaman and Nicobar, collected 211 points in the 500m time trial and secured 4th place in the ‘World Elite UCI Women Ranking’ released by UCI.
With Deborah’s brilliant performance in the Track Asia Cup last month, the Indian team has also improved its world ranking to 13th.
China, one of India’s biggest competitors, are at 15th.
Onkar Singh, Secretary General, Cycling Federation of India said, "We are very happy that Indian Cyclists are improving day by day and I’m sure that Deborah will bring more laurels for the country. The chances for Indian team to qualify for World Championship are much brighter now as till 15th rank teams will qualify for World Championship and currently India is on 13th rank. However, this ranking will further update after Asian Championship which will be held from 26-30 January 2016 in Japan”.
“After looking at the recent outstanding performance of Indian Cyclists, World Cycling Centre in Switzerland has announced 75% concession to Indian Cyclist to train in Switzerland. After which Federation has decided to send Kejia Vargheese and Deborah Herold alongwith their Coach Mr. R.K. Sharma for training in Switzerland till the Asian Championship in Japan early next year” said Singh.
Commenting on her historic achievement, Deborah said “I am happy that my ranking has improved a lot and I am the first Indian cyclist to reach at this stage but I want to improve more in the coming days and aiming to be number 1 in the World. I would like to thank our federation and government for their continuous support in our preparations. I am working hard to qualify for Olympics now. ”
