Deborah, Savanur claim golds
Deborah Herold and Shreedhar Savanur Sunday won the gold medals on offer in the elite women’s 40km and men’s 50km competitions respectively, at Saksham Pedal Delhi, India’s premier cyclothon, the capital on Sunday. Both were criterion races at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Rounding off the elite men’s podium were Manjeet Singh and Krishna Nakaodi while Sonali Chanu and Swasti Singh finished with silver and bronze respectively in the women’s elite race. To mark the occasion, Cycling Federation of India’s secretary general Onkar Singh said, “The 2018 edition had a strong field of the best 160 elite cyclists in the country and continues to showcase the quality of competitive cycling in India. “Both Deborah and Savanur are deserving champions in the criterion race. I would also like to thank PCRA & DO IT Sports for driving the sport of cycling via a fantastic platform like Saksham Pedal Delhi.”
The participants of the event pledged for a pollution free tomorrow by reducing the use of motorized vehicles and to promote fitness. Various Indian sportspersons motivated the participants. Prominent sports personalities from ONGC including Asian Games medalists Arpinder Singh, M. R. Poovamma and Heena Sidhu, Ashwini Ponnappa, Munaf Patel participated in the cyclothon to spread the message of energy conservation as well as environment protection across the country. Some sportspersons from other Oil PSUs also participated in the event.