Deborah Herold, India’s brightest medal prospect on the cycling tracks in the Asian Games, does not want to make predictions. Past records do not intimidate her. Whenever she gets on the saddle, pressing her foot on the pedal, it is all about breaking barriers and creating new milestones. Deborah, who first created a new national record in 2013 only to better it six times thereafter, says
I just want to race well. I do not want to look at past records and rankings. If I race well, I can win medals and break new records. I am not unnerved by the timings of the rivals.
Gushing Waters & a Lone Tree: Surviving the Tsunami
India has never been a force to reckon with in the cycling event at the Asian level but the arrival of the girl from a nondescript village in Andaman has transformed the gloomy landscape. She scorched the tracks not only in the domestic circuit but has also made a big impact in international meets.
For the first time, Indian cycling had a star when she broke into the top five in the world rankings in 2015. She emerged as the poster girl of Indian cycling and the fact that she had miraculously survived the 2002 tsunami added to the allure.
I do not know if the tsunami experience made me more resilient but I never want to give up on the cycling track till a race is finished. It is almost 14 years but I still remember the moment when the swirling waters flooded our home. It was early morning and my mother – carrying me and my other siblings – tried to run towards safety. But the gushing waters were too powerful and my fingers had slipped from my mother’s grasp.Deborah Herold
Describing how she survived the tsunami after it hit her home, Herold said, “I could not see my mother as a huge wave engulfed them. I was separated from my mother and I was all alone. My only chance of survival now was to climb a tree. I perched myself on the tree and survived on its leaves and barks for five days. The police finally arrived and brought me down. For days, I was too weak to move but gradually, I recovered.”
The path to glory from the tsunami-ravaged village of Kakana to become India’s best-known cyclist has not been easy. She had to fend off financial troubles and leave her family behind to pursue her dreams. Delhi, the venue for training camp for cycling, was stifling as she had very few friends. The language barrier in the city added to her troubles.
Shubhendu Sengupta, who first spotted her during a school event and trained her during her initial years in cycling at the Sports Authority of India centre in Port Blair, says
We knew life will not be easy for the youngster initially but she was a rare talent. We needed her to receive proper training and she had it in her to become a truly world class cyclist.
The Path to Olympics
The road ahead is not easy either.
Deborah is ranked fourth in the 500m time trial – incidentally, also her favourite event – but it has been struck off from the Olympics. It doesn’t feature in the Asian Games either. As a result, she will participate in individual and team sprints and keirin in Jakarta.
I still need to improve on my timings in sprints. In the individual event, I am currently clocking around 11.1 seconds in the 200m sprint. But I need to bring it down to 10.7 seconds.Deborah Herold
Her main competition in the Asian Games will come from China, Hong Kong and South Korea. Though the final line-up is not yet announced, Deborah is likely to pair with either Aleena Reji or Sonali Chanu in the team’s sprint event where India is expecting a strong performance.
“Asian Games is going to be my launch pad for the 2020 Olympics. Tokyo is my ultimate aim and I have two years to train for the big event,’’ she says.
Beyond Winning Medals
Along with the adulation comes expectations.
My life has transformed dramatically. Now when I go to my home in Andaman, everyone recognises me. People expect me to win medals at every meet that I take part in. Therefore, Olympics is so important for me. No one from the Andaman and Nicobar has represented the country at the Olympics before.Deborah Herold
Deborah has her task cut out as a berth in the Olympics is only achievable with a consistent showing in the international tournaments in the next two years and maintaining a top 10 ranking. But Deborah’s contribution to the sport goes beyond just winning medals.
She is yet to win a medal in the Asian Games but the impact that she has made on the sport is remarkable. Her feats have inspired so many youngsters from her state of Andaman to take up cycling. Her brother Appolonius, is already a member of the senior team. Esow Alban, also from Andaman, is currently junior world number one in sprint.VN Singh, Coach of India’s Women’s Cycling Team
India’s last cycling medals in the Asian Games came in its inaugural edition in 1951; when the Indian men’s side won a silver in team pursuit while Rohinton Noble and Netai Chandra Bysack bagged bronze medals in sprint and time trial respectively.
(The author is a television producer working with different sports networks in India and abroad. He has extensively covered previous editions of Asian Games and Commonwealth Games for both print and television.)
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