Bilal Ahmad Dar, the cycling gem of Jammu and Kashmir, shone in the fifth Track Asia Cup Cycling Championship 2018 which was held at Indira Gandhi Velodrome, New Delhi.
Bilal Ahmad, who represented India in the championship, participated in both group and individual events.
In the recent 3 km ‘Individual Pursuit’ event of junior category, Bilal grabbed silver after finishing on second spot. He however missed gold by a fraction of second.
Danll Pekhotin of Kazakhstan gave tough competition to Bilal at last fraction of second and claimed first spot with gold medal while Venkanpa S Kengalgutti of Sports Authority of India National Cycling Academy (SAINCA) clinched third spot with bronze.
Earlier on the opening day of championship, Bilal opened India’s medal tally with silver in junior men category of 15km ‘Point Race’ group event. After his performance, Bilal attained 19 points. Danll Pekhotin of Kazakhstan won gold while Venkanpa S Kengalgutti of SAINCA won bronze in group event as well.
Soon after winning the silver medal, Bilal told media that it was a nail biting finish and he fell little short to anchor the first position.
“There remained a difference of micro-second for the first-spot between me and the contender from Kazakhstan. I was leading the race from the qualifying round but at the finishing moment the contender from Kazakhstan slightly went ahead of me. It was a tough competition and I’m satisfied and happy with my performance and for winning silver,” he said.
He further said that there is lot of scope to improve and to overcome his deficiencies.
“I will work hard to overcome my shortcomings that came to fore during this championship. My coaches, VN Singh and Amar Singh helped me a lot and they are also satisfied with my performance though their desire always remains that I should finish on high note,” he adds.
Hailing from Chak-I-Kawoosa Narbal, Budgam, Bilal in his cycling voyage from November 2017, has secured nine medallions which include six gold, two silver and one bronze medals in various championships excluding two silver medals that he won in 5th Track Asia Cup .
Dar, who comes from the humble background besides being an orphan, started his cycling journey from 2015, when he was in his seventh grade.
“I’m grateful to my family, coaches and Sports Authority of India for their immense support. It’s because of their undeterred support, faith and encouragement that I reached at this level,” he expressed.
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