06/03/2025
Double Silver Medal @ the UCI para-cyclinf championships. .handcyclist
Prashant a Time Trial specialist and has been representing India at the highest levels of hand-cycling for the last few years; UCI World Cups and UCI World Championships all over the world, where he races the best in the world. Most of his competitors are professional hand-cyclists with full backing from their National Federations.
Prashant works full time in IT in Singapore and is a loving husband and proud father to his delightful 6 year old daughter. Not being able to secure any grant or sponsorship from his country, on top of providing for his family, he is also fully self- funded for travel, accommodation, race entry, equipment etc.. the lot.
In the years that we have been working together, Prshant has never once complained or used this as an excuse. All he wants to know is,"How do I get faster? How do I close the gap to the leaders?"
As we pick apart his game looking for the areas to improve, and strategise how to put his season together, as I scroll through his solid green wall of a training calendar and come up with novel ways to perform his strength work in the gym, I am awestruck with how single- minded he is. Every conversation with him fills me with hope and inspires me to be better.
Imagine my joy when he placed 2nd at the UCI Asian Road cycling Championships in the Individual Time Trial, last week; the breakthrough race that he had been working so hard for. My heart was full!
"Wonderful! Superhuman effort!" I told him. "Now relax, just sit in the group to enjoy the road race tomorrow". After all, we had been preparing specifically for the 20km ITT and not the 70km road race.
"Enjoyed the ride - very happy with race today" came the reply after the road race, in which he sprinted home for a second Silver medal of the week!
Thank you Prashant for daring to dream big and sharing that with me!
