The background
17-year-old Gongutri had suffered a major road accident five years back while training. The youngster had severe injuries including multiple lacerations and a broken collarbone. This had kept the cyclist out of action for over a year.
The heart of the matter
The iron-willed girl from Assam poured her heart into the sport upon her return.
If her mother had had her way, Gongutri would have quit and the nation would have lost a fine talent. Pocketing a gold medal at KIYG 2020 would only help the youngster gain confidence and intensify her preparations.
Gongutri’s late surge helped her gun for glory in the physically and mentally draining 60KM race. The race also saw nine participants crashing in a back row scuffle, leaving them injured and preventing them from completing the race.
Related Link: Update Khelo India Youth Games 2020 Medal Tally
In a sport like cycling, crashes are very common. Gongutri had shown tremendous fighting spirit during the Road Nationals in Bikaner last year as well. She had fallen off her bike but was quick to get up and recover in time to eventually clinch the Silver medal.
Fellow Assamese cyclist Chayanika Gogoi also won the Bronze medal at the Girls U21 road race at KIYG 2020. She finished just 00:00.148 seconds behind Gongutri in the intense race. Both Gogoi and Bordoloi train at the SAI Centre in Delhi. They were selected for the national camp in 2018 and credit the good facilities for their spectacular outing at KIYG.
What’s next?
Gongutri’s gold medal outing is sure to inspire many others like her to take up the sport in the state. She really pushed herself to the limit to clinch the medal.
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