Correct Answer : Option (C) - 18
India ended its campaign by winning a total of 18 medals at the Asian Track Cycling Championships 2024 that concluded on 26 February 2024. This competition was organized from 21 to 26 February at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, New Delhi.
* 500 riders from 18 countries competed in New Delhi, including junior and para track cycling events.
* This was the 43rd edition of the 'Asian Track Cycling Championships'.
* The championship was also the final qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Para and junior players performed best :
* India's 20-member junior and para teams performed well and
won 18 medals. There are
nine gold,
six silver and
three bronze medals in total.
* In this competition, para players performed best and contributed eight gold and four silver medals to India's medal tally. In this way, para players won a total of
14 medals for India.
* The remaining medals for India were won by junior players. Sarita Kumari, Niya Sebastian, Sabina Kumari and Zaina Mohammed Ali Peerkhan won gold for India in the junior women's team sprint.
* On the final day, India's Harshita Jakhar won the bronze medal in the women's junior madison category. Earlier, she had won a silver medal in the individual pursuit and a bronze medal in the team pursuit.
* On the last day of the championship, India's Harshita Jakhar and Dhanyadha JP won the bronze medal in the junior women's madison event.
* This is Harshita's third medal in the championship and second medal in the team event. Earlier he had won silver medal in individual pursuit and bronze medal in team pursuit.
Top cyclists disappointed :
* India's top cyclists ended their campaign at the event without winning any medals.
* Among other Indian players, Ronaldo Latonjam finished fifth in the 1 km time trial elite men's event.
* Harshveer Singh Sekhon finished 12th in the men's elite omnium race.
* A total of 22 elite Indian cyclists, led by Ronaldo Singh, David Beckham, Esso Alben and Rojit Singh, competed for ranking points for the Summer Games.
* The Indian cyclists failed to repeat the success achieved in the 2022 edition held in New Delhi.
* India recorded its best performance in a continental competition in 2022, winning nine medals – one silver and eight bronze.
* Meenakshi, competing in the women's category, missed out on a medal by a narrow margin and finished fourth. She lost to Renata Sultanova of Kazakhstan in the bronze medal race.
* Ronaldo Singh, who won the silver medal with a national record in the 1km individual time trial at the 2023 edition held in Malaysia. Finished fifth this year.
The three top-ranked countries in the championship were :
Malaysia topped the Asian Track Cycling Championships 2024 with
37 medals. Whereas
Japan got
24 medals and
Korea got 23 medals and got second and third place respectively in this competition. This can be seen as follows :
* Malaysia – topped with 37 (19 gold, 11 silver and seven bronze medals).
* Japan – 24 (17 gold, five silver and two bronze medals).
* Korea – 23 (9 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze medals).
