2004 Tsunami survivor wins gold medal in Track Asia Cycling Cup

New Delhi: No point arguing which sports need prime time coverage. But individuals or teams, that happen to play or practice lesser known sports, fighting off odds to earn some pride for the country, they out to be appreciated, give that few little space to announce their existence too.

When a certain Deborah won a gold medal in the women's 500 metre time trial at the AC Track Asia Cup 2014 on Friday, it didn't make any breaking news. It even failed to be reported, despite the event happening in the nation's capital. Cycling, like many other peripheral sports in India, hardly makes news. And if that cyclists happens to be from a place like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, it doesn't really hit the nerve.

The 19-year-old survived the 2004 Tsunami which had devastated the islands didn't stopped her from continuing with her passion. Trained at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Andaman, she has emerged as one of the rising stars of Indian cycling.

Yesterday, she overcame her personal odds, including headache and cough to clinch the gold medal in her event. The Adaman and Nicobar cyclist clocked 37.250 seconds and it was good enough for her to win the race ahead of second-placed Tatyana Zadnepryanova of Kazkahstan at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Sports Complex in New Delhi. Parul Akhtar of Bangladesh was third.

Deborah, who was down with fever at the Mexico Cycling World Cup last month, is competing in the senior category for the first time. Despite suffering with high temperature days before the Asia Cup, where they are also fighting for points for the 2016 Rio Olympics qualification, she pushed for the glory.