Naveen Felicitates Odisha’s Cycling Sensation Swasti Singh, Presents Her Rs 2 Lakh

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday felicitated Odisha’s cycling sensation Swasti Singh at Naveen Niwas for her outstanding achievements at the national and international levels.

“Her achievement is an inspiration for many young and aspiring cyclists of our country, especially women, who will emulate her path of strive and success. We are immensely proud of her. She has the potential to rise to be one of the cycling superstars,” the Odisha chief minister said.

He presented Swasti a cheque for Rs 2 lakh as financial incentive for her fantastic feats.

Rourkela girl Swasti recently bagged gold medal in the 3000m Individual Pursuit category by setting a national record of 4:05:547 seconds. She added another gold in 60km Road Mass Start at the 25th National Road Cycling Championship held in Navi Mumbai.

The 19-year-old Swasti won a double silver — in 10km Scratch Race and 20km Point Race — at the 72nd National Track Cycling Championship held at Osmania University, Hyderabad.

In the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games at Guwahati, Swasti clinched two gold and one silver medal.

In 2018, Swasti won her first international gold medal in the junior women’s 2km Individual Pursuit event at the 5th Asian Cup Track Cycling at Talkatora Velodrome in New Delhi. A year later, she bettered her own national record to clinch bronze medal in 2km Individual Pursuit at the Track Asia Cup Cycling Championships.

She went on to pocket a silver medal in women’s Individual Road Race at the 13th South Asian Games in Kathmandu.

Swasti, currently training at National Cycling Academy in New Delhi, thanked the chief minister for the appreciation and support.