SAN QUENTIN: Indian cyclist Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam created a new national record in the 200 m flying time trial category at the recently-concluded UCI Track Cycling World Championships 2022 held in San Quentin, France.
Ronaldo, an Asian Championships silver medallist, was able to break the record by clocking 9.910 seconds in men's sprint qualifying round to establish a new record in the 200m flying time trial category. However, this record-breaking performance could only fetch him a 31st-place finish, which caused him to miss out on the next round which was only reserved for top 28 competitors.
As per Olympics.com, Esow Alben also made history as he became the first-ever Indian to qualify for the senior track cycling world championship semis. This accomplishment is even more special considering it is first time he is representing India at the senior level in the track cycling world championships.
He finished 12th overall in the men's keirin event. On his senior debut, the cyclist finished at fifth position in heat four of the first round and seemed set for an early exit. But a better run in first round repechage saw him finish second in heat 3 and he was able to advance to quarterfinals.
In the quarters, Esow finished third in heat two to qualify for the semis. In the semis, his brilliant run continued but he missed a place in final A by a very narrow margin of 0.005 seconds. He qualified for final B to determine position 7th to 12th, finishing last at 12th position.
Another Indian cyclist David Beckham finished at 24th position in the men's 1 km time trial event qualifying round and the team of Alban, Esow and Rojit Singh finished at 16th position in qualification for men's team sprint event.
UCI Track Cycling World Championships 2022 was held in San Quentin, France from October 12 to 16. (ANI).
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