Punjab Police will be the team to beat

By Our Sports Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DEC. 25. Old foes Railways and Punjab Police are expected to renew their rivalry in the men's section when the 54th National senior cycling championship gets underway at the LNCPE velodrome, Kariyavattom, on Tuesday.

Punjab Police, which skipped the last edition of National championship (held early this year) as majority of its cyclists had to appear for their final exams, is in full strength and it is something Railways would not be able to overlook.

Punjab Police, overall champion at Patiala in 1999, is likely to make its presence felt in the sprint and time trial events. Internationals Raminder Singh, Kulbir Singh, Varmeet Singh and Amandeep Singh are expected to give their rivals from the Railways and Services a run for their money.

Though Railway boasts some of the best talent in the country, it will find it difficult to retain the men's title it lifted early this year in New Delhi. The full strength Punjab Police team and Services, along with host Kerala, are expected to make life difficult for the Railway cyclists. Spearheading the Railway campaign will be Rakesh Kumar, who was the individual champion in Delhi. Premjoit Singh, Fulbirth and Saurav Dixit are other competent cyclists in the Railway ranks.

Services, with seasoned campaigners like Jorawar Singh, Sukhwinder Singh and Premjit Singh, is likely to be a force to reckon with in the team trial events. Kerala's fortunes will depend on Vishnu Chand, who has an outside chance to win the gold in the 1000m sprint. Ineous Peter (BSF) and Ram Karan Choudhary (Rajasthan) are other cyclists who are expected to corner glory in the men's section.

In the boys' section, Manipur is expected to dominate though it will miss Jayantakumar, who joined Railways recently. H. Premchand, Lenindro Singh, Probin Singh are expected to pedal away with glory in the under-18 category.

In the under-16 age-group, the Manipur coach K. Dinesh Singh expects Budha Singh and W.U. Premchand to come up trumps in the time trial and individual pursuit events respectively.

The competition for Manipur will come mainly from Amandeep Singh and Ravinder Singh of Delhi provided they are here to defend the gold medals they won in the last Nationals.

In the women's section, the fight for honours will be between host Kerala and Manipur. Manipur has come with the same side which won the overall title in New Delhi. Rameshwori Devi, Usha Rani Devi and O. Bina Kumari make a formidable combination in the team pursuit event. The absence of Kerala's T. Chitra will make it easy for Bina Kumari and Rameshwori Kumari in the time trial and sprint events.

But Kerala coach, Usha T. Nair, said Chitra's absence will have no bearing on the team's fortunes and hopes to improve upon the second place it got in the last Nationals. Anitha Andrews is the best bet for the host in 1km time trial while Seema and R. Sandhya will lend their weight in team events. ``A surprise gold or two is not beyond the reach of my cyclists,'' the Kerala coach said.

In the junior section, the fight appears even more tight with Manipur, Kerala, Maharashtra and Punjab in the fray for top honours. In the under-18 category, Manipur will bank on Chaoba Devi to deliver the goods in time trial and individual pursuit. But she will have to overcome the challenge posed by Punjab's Gurpreet Kaur, winner of three gold medals at the last Nationals, and Kerala's V. Rajini.

Manipur, with Nita Devi, Naocha Devi and Padmini Devi, is expected to dominate the events in the under-16 category. Punjab's Gurpreet Kaur, the individual champion last year, will be around this time too to spoil Manipur's party. In this category, host Kerala is pinning its hopes on Saritha. Maharashtra is also expected to arrive here with a squad that should help it prove that its triumphant campaign last year was by no means a flash in the pan.

Big time cycling is back in Thiruvananthapuram after a gap of 13 years. The last time a major meet was held here was during the II National Games held in 1987 and the LNCPE velodrome has been spruced up for the occasion. The meet, incorporating the 31st junior and 17th sub-junior championships, is expected to attract nearly 500 cyclists from 24 affiliated units of the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) besides institutional teams like Railways, Services and Punjab Police.

The Kerala Local Administration Minister, Mr. Paloly Mohammed Kutty, will inaugurate the five-day meet.

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