On day three of the Commonwealth Games 2022 (Birmingham 2022), Indian track cyclists Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam and Vishavjeet Singh created history for India as they became the first two Indian cyclists to qualify for the knockouts of the CWG history.
In the CWG 2022, the track cyclist Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam is participating in three different categories. Apart from men’s team sprint and men’s sprint (individual), he will also participate in men’s time trial (individual). In the men’s sprint (individual), Ronaldo qualified for the 1/8 finals after finishing in the 13th position in the qualification round. However, he was eliminated from the first knockout round.
Another track cyclist Vishavjeet Singh is also competing in three different categories in the CWG 2022. Apart from men’s team pursuit and men’s individual pursuit, he is also appearing in men’s scratch race (individual). In the men’s scratch race (individual), Vishavjeet qualified for the final after managing the fifth spot in the qualification round.
Historic Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam
In the men's team sprint, Ronaldo and his teammate failed to reach the knockout stage after finishing in the sixth position in the qualification round (44.702).
However, in the men’s sprint (individual), Ronaldo advanced to the knockout stage 1/8 finals after managing the 13th spot (time 10.012) out of 16 qualified riders for the next round.
But in the 1/8 finals, Ronaldo lost to Australian Matthew Glaetzer in the Heat 4 due to taking 0.162 more time to finish. However, it was still a big achievement as an Indian cyclist qualified for the knockouts in CWG.
In this CWG 2022 campaign, Ronaldo now has left one more event, and it is the men’s time trial (individual).
Vishavjeet Singh: The first Indian to reach the final
Another Indian Vishavjeet also created history by qualifying for the final of the men’s scratch race (individual). He is the first Indian to represent in the final of the track cycling event in CWG history.
In the men’s 15km scratch race qualifying round (Heat 2), Vishavjeet managed to finish in the fifth position to advance to the final of this event (the top nine players qualify for the final). The final is yet to be played.
Earlier, Vishavjeet and his teammates managed sixth position (4:12.865) during the qualification round of the men’s team pursuit as they failed to advance to the final.
In the men’s individual pursuit, Vishavjeet finished in the 18th spot of the qualification round (4:36.709), just ahead of another Indian Dinesh Kumar (19th position; 4:37.066), as he failed to qualify for the final of that event.
