Over 200 youngsters of the district felt invigorated as they stepped on the pedal at the Anna birth anniversary cycling competition here on Sunday morning.
The contest was organised by the Tiruchi-unit of Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu in three age categories – under-17, 15 and 13 – for boys and girls. V.R. Srinivasan, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Golden Rock range, and M. Vigneswaran, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic), South, inaugurated the competition.
“It was heartening to see youngsters participating with lot of enthusiasm,” said P.Kalaiselvan, district sports and youth welfare officer.
For boys in the under-17 and under-15 categories, the race was for 20 km and for those below 13 years of age the race was for 15 km. The girls, who competed in the under-17 and under-15 sections covered a distance of 15 km, while those who participated in the under-13 category pedalled a distance of 10 km. “Cycling is one of the best exercises to stay fit and healthy. Competition apart, regular cycling will help keep the mind and body fresh,” Mr.Kalaiselvan added. K.Bharathan of St. Joseph’s Boys Higher Secondary School, and S.Sindhuja of Methodist Girls Higher Secondary School, were the winners in the under-17 boys’ and girls’ sections respectively. In the under-15 category, R.Pavithramanickam of Khajamian Higher Secondary School, and E.Bhuvaneshwari of Government Higher Secondary School, Somarasampettai, emerged victorious. S.Praveen of Mullai Nursery and Primary School, and J.Aiswarya of Srirangam Girls Higher Secondary School, were the winners in the under-13 boys’ and girls’ sections . Mr.Srinivasan gave away the prizes in the presence of C.Chandrasekar, president, Tiruchi District Cycling Association, and P.Rathnagiri, secretary.
