16-year-old Kedar Patel studying in 11th grade of Ambe School, Manjalpur, bagged gold in the 26th National Road Cycling Championship organized by The Cycling Federation of India at Kurukshetra in Haryana from 25th to 28th November. It is the first-ever gold medal for Vadodara in the geared cycle category.
He fought tooth and nail till the last with close to 80 participants. The race ended with the exciting sprint finish where Kedar showed his exceptional skill and strength by covering the distance of 40 km in 59 minutes & 12 seconds with an average speed of 40.5 km/hr.
He won a silver medal in the state championship organized by Gujarat Cycling Association and got selected for the State team. Two other participants from Vadodara Riddhi Kadam (in Women Elite Category) and Vrushti Patel (Girls Youth category, under 14) also got selected to represent the state at the National level after bagging silver in their respective categories.
Winners are being trained by renowned coaches Nimish Makadia and Miten Thakker (Cyclozeal Training & Assistance), who have a total of 49 National Championship medals and numerous State Championship medals to their credit, as well as two Guinness World Records for Ultra cycling.
Coach Nimish Makadia said, “It is a proud moment for us, as well as the entire Vadodara. Kedar and his brother Prem (equally talented) have been training with us for over a year. His dedication, determination, discipline, and hard work have manifested into this victory. It is an expensive sport, and not many sportspersons choose this as their career. The medal will now inspire others especially, the youth, to join the sport.”
Written by-
Isha Mehta
