Swasti Singh: Cycling Sensation Of Odisha

Swasti Singh: Cycling Sensation Of Odisha

She is just 19 but she has already emerged as a cycling sensation and is on the cusp of achieving great things in near future. Meet Swasti Singh from Rourkela who burst into the cycling scene in 2015 and has been grabbing everyone’s attention with her superb technique and buzzer beater timings. 

Having brought laurels for both her state and the country, Swasti is currently training at the Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex (IGSC) in New Delhi and honing her skills as a cyclist of international calibre. Swasti started cycling in 2015 when she was in Class 7. At her first state meet she won four gold medals. This was a big break for her. 

Remembering her introduction to the world of cycling, Swasti said, “I was not much aware about cycling back in 2015. Since the cycles were very different from regular ones, I was a bit scared in the beginning. But our coach helped me gain confidence and soon I overcame my fears. He helped us focus on the techniques and we gave our best.” 

Coach Susil Kumar Das was impressed by Swasti’s performance from the beginning and said, “Her timing was very good and she was a good rider of the fixie even without any prior practice and knowledge. Within a day, she was able to grasp how the fixie works, which was impressive. I knew that she would do well when provided with the right coaching, practice and opportunity.”

Impressed with her initial success, the coach insisted that she should try for the nationals and in 2018 she went on to win her first national medal in the 15 kilometer individual time trial event at the 23rd National Road Cycling Championshipand won a bronze. She fell down from the cycle once during the race but still went on and made it to the podium. In June 2018 she got selected for India camp. 

In 2018, Swosti won her first international gold medal at the age of 17 at the 5th Asian Cup Track Cycling. In 2019, she created a new national record of 2:35:161 seconds by beating her own previous record of 2:37:00 seconds to win a bronze medal at the Track Asia Cup Cycling Championships. She followed this with a silver win at the 13th South Asian Games. At the 3rd Khelo India Youth Games, Swasti bagged two gold and one silver medals. 

Swasti’s father Amar Singh works at the Oxygen Plant of Rourkela Steel Plant and her mother is a homemaker. Swasti’s elder brother is also a cyclist. She is pursuing her class 12 in arts stream at National Institute of Open Schooling. While her eyes are all set on the Asian Championships and the Asian Games, she also wants to complete Bachelors in Arts. 

Swasti’s inspiration is her coach Sushil Kumar Das and MMA fighter Ritu Phogat. She admires Ritu’s attitude and her fighting style. Apart from cycling, Swasti loves line drawing and gardening. She loves to plant kitchen plants and herbs in her garden.

Susil Kumar Das, Joint Secretary and Chairman of Technical Committee, Odisha Cycling Association and SAIL Coach has been mentoring Swasti since 2015. Talking about what makes Swasti stand out from the rest, he said, “Her endurance capacity is great. She is obedient and very determined to give her best always. She is a gentle soul which gives her an advantage over others as she is capable of keeping her calm in adverse situations.” 

“She always maintains her training schedule and never skips any sessions. She is a fast learner and understands how the technicalities of cycling work, better than others. She is always inquisitive to learn more and always goes up to the coaches to discuss new possibilities that may improve her performance,” he further added. 

Susil feels that Swasti is very competitive. “She has a lot of power. We as coaches are trying to channel it by improving her techniques which have shown results in the last few years. Swasti is not only an ace cyclist but also a very good student. In school, she used to score around 98-99 % of marks. Because of her performance and her dedication, Khelo India has decided to give Swasti a high-end racing cycle. I am proud of her and I know that she has a bright future ahead,” concluded Susil