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What's the story?
Indian teenager Esow Alben, who hails from Andaman and Nicobar, recently became the World No. 1 in the Junior sprinting circuit.
The previous best ranking by an Indian in the category was achieved by 23-year-old Deborah Herold, who incidentally also hails from Andaman and Nicobar.
In case you didn't know...
Earlier this year in February, Esow Alben had scripted history after becoming the 1st Indian to bag a gold medal at the Asian Junior track Cycling championship.
In all, he won 3 golds in the event -- including 2 individuals, one each in Keirin and Sprint; and 1 team with Mayur Pawar and James Singh.
Many experts had touted him to be one of India's brightest prospects in the future and the young boy has certainly lived up to their expectations.
The heart of the matter
With a few more gold medals at the Cottbuser Sprint Cup 2018 and the GP Brno Track Cycling competitions, the Island boy Esow had grabbed a total of 1160 points till June and was crowned the Junior World No. 1 for his exploits by the world governing body of cycling, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
The 17-year-old achieving the top rank as a junior sprint rider is no small achievement. However, Esow will not have much time to celebrate it as he will be representing India in the Junior Cycling World Championship in August and needs to get back to training. The Championships will also act as qualifiers for Youth Olympics.
What's next?
If Esow Alben continues with such strong performances then he is sure to become one of the most decorated sportspersons in the near future. Esow can bring home many more medals as cycling is one such sport where the athlete has the chance of bringing home multiple medals in a single event.
Esow Alben's feat showcases the bright future that the sport holds in India and will certainly motivate other youngsters to take up cycling.
