National cycling coach dies in road accident

New Delhi: Former India cyclist and current national coach Ruma Chatterjee died in a road accident in the wee hours on Tuesday after being hit by a speeding vehicle on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway.

Fifty-year-old Chatterjee was cycling along with Indian junior road cycling team when she was hit by a car near Sector 45 in Noida at around 6 am. She died on the spot. Chatterjee hailed from Kolkata and her body will be sent to the city. "The group had left for practice from Indira Gandhi Sports Complex early morning to Noida and while they were returning to Delhi the accident took place. She was following the cyclists when she was hit by a speeding car from behind leading to her death on the spot," Assistant Secretary of Cycling Federation of India (CFI), V N Singh said. Chatterjee was to accompany the Indian track cyclist team to Switzerland for a eight-week long training session but the contingent was denied visas. "We had planned to sent our cycling team under Ruma for a training session in Switzerland from June 1. But their visas were rejected by the authorities. We were thinking of reapplying through a different country," Onkar Singh, CFI general secretary, said. Chatterjee, whose career in cycling started in late 1970s, was the joint secretary of the body. She served as national women`s coach for the last 10 years, including the Asian Championships held earlier in the year. PTI