Asian Track Cycling: Treat from birthday boy Ronaldo Singh, wins historic silver

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New Delhi, June 22

It was a birthday to remember for India’s Ronaldo Singh as he earned a historic silver medal in the senior category of the sprint race at the Asian Track Cycling Championships.

Ronaldo, who turned 20 today, gave Japan’s Kento Yamasaki a close fight before coming up short to settle for silver in the finals. Yamasaki defeated Ronaldo in two back-to-back races to win gold. Kazakhstan’s Andrey Chugay won bronze in the event.

This was Ronaldo’s third medal of the competition, after bronze in the 1km time trial and team sprint events.

Earlier in the day, Ronaldo defeated Kazakhstan’s Chugay in the semifinals. He lost the first race but bounced back to win the next two to qualify for the finals.

“Gold was on my mind but I am also happy that I have won the first-ever silver. This is the best-ever performance of my career. I have improved in every tournament that I have participated in. I achieved this with the blessings of my family and coaching staff,” the birthday boy said after the historic feat.

Young Birjit Yumnam grabbed a bronze after he secured 23 points in the 15km Points Race in the junior men’s category. He was unlucky to miss silver by a solitary point. The silver went to South Korea’s Sungyeon Lee, who secured 24 points, while gold was won by Farrukh Bobosherov of Uzbekistan.

Big surprise

However, the big surprise of the day came from 19-year-old Chayanika Gogoi, who pipped Kazakhstan’s Rinata Sultanova in the 10km Women Scratch Race finals for bronze. South Korean Youri Kim won gold, while Kie Furuyama of Japan settled for silver. “I never missed my training and I am glad that the hard work paid off. My sole aim is to represent and win medals for the country,” Chayanika said.