We are on our way to making it to next Olympics: CFI secretary general Maninder Pal Singh

Cycling Federation of India (CFI) secretary general Maninder Pal Singh on Thursday said the COVID-19 pandemic dashed their hopes of participation at Paris Olympics but asserted they "have plans in place" for 2028 Los Angeles Games.

The country has won three medals in cycling at the Asian Games but is yet to see representation at the Olympics.

When asked about India's failure to qualify for cycling at the Paris Games, Maninder said COVID-19 affected their plans during the qualification campaign.

"Cycling is not a sport that you can equate to others when it comes to Olympic qualification. It takes two and a half years to qualify for the Games. Besides taking part in the qualifiers, one needs to attain points from events of various classes," he told PTI in an interaction arranged by HCL.

"This year, we were hopeful of our riders qualifying. But, because of COVID, events in Asia took a hit, unlike Europe, where the riders took the required points to qualify.

"Nonetheless, we are well on our way to making it to the next Olympics (in Los Angeles). We have our plans in place and are both hopeful and confident of qualifying for the first time." Maninder further explained the challenges faced by the sport in the country and said infrastructure has a massive role to play in preparing cyclists.

"Cycling alone cannot thrive on its riders, but it is hugely dependent on its infrastructure, not only the equipment but also the coaches. And, it's not easy to get since the infrastructure is very expensive.

"About 4-5 years back, there were some velodromes that were not being utilised due to some problems. While Chennai already has one, there's one coming up in Kolkata and also one in the state of Odisha. Currently, we have about 16-17 velodromes in the country." Maninder was in the city on Thursday to launch a cyclothon event, an initiative of the CFI to promote the sport in the country.

Besides the cyclothon, he affirmed that plans were in place to produce certified coaches along with some talent hunt programmes.

"Other than cyclothon, we have a huge programme in place for the coaches' development. There is a course that is already underway, and we are the first country to certify these coaches.

"Also, we plan on getting these cyclists out of their home towns and villages. We are already in the process of conducting a talent hunt programme, starting on July 28 this year in the north zone.

"Kids aged between 12-14 will be judged on the physical parameters required for a cyclist. After that, they will be in Delhi for more cycling-specific tests and be also trained for the Olympics." Additionally, he thanked the Indian government and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for their support.

"We have a proposal with the Government of India where our certified coaches will run private academies in those velodromes. The government has been extremely kind to us for letting us produce our plans, while the Sports Authority of India has been really supportive in making cycling a sport to look forward to," Maninder signed off.

The Chennai cyclothon will be held on October 6, the second edition of the event in the city.