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Rajasthan's Vimla Machra was barely smiling despite dominating the girls' Keirin race at the Cycling Velodrome in TNPESU complex to win the gold medal. The teenager was quite conscious of her broken tooth and had been told by her father to skip the event.
But Vimla, who broke one of her central incisors during the same event at the Junior Nationals in Ranchi just over a month ago, was determined to not just compete in the event but win it."This is a moment I will forever be proud of myself. More than competing with others, I was challenging myself, I had to do it, I had to prove myself, I had to prove my father couldn't let him down," said an emotional Vimla, who finished her Khelo India Youth Games with four medals, including two golds. She had earlier won the gold in Sprint and a couple of silvers in 500m Time Trials, and Team Sprint. Explaining her father's reluctance to let her participate in Keirin in Chennai, Vimla said, "My dad did not want me to risk myself any more, he asked me not to participate in Keirin. As a parent, he is right and will be worried about me. But I also come from an Army background, how can I step back? I took it as a challenge, and more than anyone else, I wanted to prove myself," she added. Proving a point is something that seems to motivate Vimla. When she took up cycling back in June 2019, her father Govind Ram, only consented to give her a road cycle as the parents were unsure how long their daughter would stick to the sport. But with just six months of training, Vimla managed to finish a credible fourth in Time Trials at the junior nationals, and only then did her father buy a 'track cycle' for her. "Initially it was very difficult (to convince my parents), as they felt I would leave the sport after some time and the money would be wasted."Only after my performance in the junior nationals, were they convinced that I was serious about the sport," said Vimla, the youngest of the three siblings in the family and the only one to be associated with sports. She tasted instant success by winning a Time Trials gold at the junior national championships held in Hyderabad in 2021 and the coaches there asked her to stick to track racing. At the Ranchi Junior Nationals, she bagged two bronze medals in Time Trial and Team Sprint events, before suffering a crash in the Keirin event. "I wanted to get the tooth repaired but my father (jokingly) asked me to wait until I finish my career. He perhaps knows I may get some other parts also broken," she said with a wide grin finally. Vimla now aspires to break into the senior circuit but before that visiting a dentist is her first priority. "After this gold (in Keirin), I hope to get the tooth issue sorted. I'm sure my dad will be proud of my efforts (and won't object now)," she added. (ANI)
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