The two-day 15th State-level mountain biking championship began here on Saturday and 125 cyclists from across the State are taking part in the event.
“We want to go beyond State-level events and want to host a national-level championship. If we get support and encouragement, this will surely become a reality,” said Srishail Kurni, State general secretary of the Karnataka Amateur Cycling Association.
Speaking at the inaugural function behind the new BLDE campus, on the outskirts of the city, he said that several people and organisations, including, including Devanand Chavan, Nagathan MLA, BLDE Association and DCC Bank, have offered support and financial aid for it.
“Karnataka has done remarkably well nationally in road cycling championships. But in track cycling, we are still lagging in the absence of a proper cycling track,” he said.
Regretting that the velodrome project for cyclists has been pending for over a decade, he urged the government to complete the project to help cyclists of Vijayapura and elsewhere practice for national and international events.
Mr. Kurni also said that in recent years, the government had stopped giving jobs to cyclists in the Police Department under the sports quota.
“The government has now agreed to resume it. Now the government is yet to issue a gazette notification with regard to it. I request Mr. Chavan to take up the matter with the government and ensure that the notification is issued as early as possible. This will help several cyclists of the district to get jobs in the police,” he said.
In his address, Mr. Chavan said that it was a matter of pride for Vijayapura that it has been holding cycling events and producing international level cyclists.
