Cycling PIS Residential Academy to be Established in Sunam Constituency Aman Arora

Sangrur, September 13:- The ‘Asmita Khelo India Women’s State League (Road)-2026’, organised in Sangrur by the Cycling Association of Punjab with the objective of promoting women’s cycling, concluded successfully on Sunday with road race competitions and the felicitation of the winning players. Punjab Cabinet Minister Aman Arora attended the closing ceremony as the chief guest, presented medals to the winning women cyclists and extended his best wishes to them for their future. On this occasion, Aman Arora announced that a residential cycling academy of the Punjab Institute of Sports (PIS) would be established in the Sunam constituency.
On the occasion, Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said that the daughters of Punjab have achieved great accomplishments through their hard work and ability in education, sports and other fields. He said that the increasing participation of girls in a tough and challenging sport like cycling is a matter of immense pride and encouragement for Punjab. Such competitions not only provide women athletes an opportunity to showcase their talent but also develop in them the confidence and competitive experience required for competitions at the national and international levels.
Mr. Arora said that sports keep the younger generation physically fit while also inculcating discipline, patience, determination, hard work and dedication towards goals. He also appealed to parents to fully support their daughters in pursuing the sports of their choice. He said that when families, coaches, sports institutions and society come together to encourage athletes, the path for them to achieve greater goals becomes easier.
The Cabinet Minister described the ‘Asmita Khelo India Women’s State League’ as a very important platform for women athletes and said that such initiatives help identify talent at the grassroots level and provide promising players with a suitable competitive environment to progress. He congratulated the Cycling Association of Punjab and the entire organising team for the successful conduct of the league.
On the occasion, Arjuna Awardee, Asian Games gold medallist and Olympian Swaran Singh Virk encouraged the players and said that talent, along with continuous hard work, discipline, patience and strong determination, is extremely important to achieve higher goals in sports. He said that his own experience as a player had taught him that there is no shortcut to achieving success at the national and international levels and that continuous practice and dedication towards the goal are what take an athlete to the destination.
S. Virk said that competitions such as the ‘Asmita Khelo India Women’s State League’ are very important for young women athletes, as they provide them with competitive experience, confidence and an opportunity to test their abilities from a young age. He encouraged the players to rise above victory and defeat and treat every competition as an opportunity to learn. He said that the land of Punjab has given the country numerous international-level athletes and that with proper training, better sports infrastructure and continuous competition, the daughters of Punjab also have the ability to win medals for the country at the Olympics, Asian Games and other major international platforms.
He said that welcoming Cabinet Minister Aman Arora’s announcement to establish a PIS residential cycling academy in the Sunam constituency, such academies play an important role in identifying talented athletes at the grassroots level and providing them with scientific training, expert coaching and a suitable environment for competition.
On the occasion, Cycling Association of Punjab General Secretary Jagdeep Singh Kahlon welcomed Cabinet Minister Aman Arora and said that his presence had boosted the morale of the players and organisers. He said that the association’s main objective is to strengthen cycling in Punjab from the grassroots level and identify talented players in villages, towns and cities and provide them with a suitable platform to reach the national and international levels.
S. Kahlon said that the prospects for women’s cycling in Punjab are extremely bright and the enthusiasm, passion and competitiveness displayed by the players in this league are proof of this. He said that if promising players receive regular competitions, scientific training, expert coaching and a high-level sporting environment from a young age, the daughters of Punjab have the ability to bring glory to the country in the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and other major international competitions.
On the occasion, Sunam Municipal Council President Mandeep Sunam and Market Committee Sangrur Chairman Avtar Singh Ealwal said that the ‘Asmita Khelo India Women’s State League’ had provided women athletes with a major platform to prove their talent and abilities. They said that along with the winning players, every player who participated in the competition deserved congratulations, because stepping onto the field and competing with full ability is itself a major achievement.
Organising Committee Chairman and teacher Jagdish Singh and Secretary Jasvir Singh said that during the two-day league, women cyclists presented an excellent example of discipline and sportsmanship. They said that families, educational institutions and society should jointly encourage girls, particularly to help them move forward in sports.
The organisers said that the individual time trial and road race competitions held over the two days provided the players with an excellent opportunity to test their physical ability, technical skills and competition preparedness. They said that a major objective of the league is to connect the maximum number of girls of Punjab with cycling and prepare a strong pool of high-level women athletes for the future.
In the 16-kilometre Women Elite category road race held on September 13, Ludhiana’s Preeti won the gold medal with a timing of 39 minutes 10.997 seconds. Ludhiana’s Tanveer Kaur secured the silver medal with a timing of 39 minutes 11.208 seconds, while Sangrur’s Swarin Kaur won the bronze medal with a timing of 40 minutes 05.416 seconds, bringing pride to the district.
Similarly, in the 16-kilometre Women Junior category road race, Ludhiana’s Anshika secured first place and won the gold medal with a timing of 38 minutes 45.177 seconds. Ludhiana’s Mahikpreet Kaur won the silver medal with a timing of 42 minutes 42.079 seconds, while Ludhiana’s Simranpreet Kaur won the bronze medal with a timing of 43 minutes 12.739 seconds.
On the occasion, a large number of players, sports enthusiasts, organisers and spectators participated, including senior office-bearers of the Cycling Association of Punjab Bakshish Singh and S.P. Singh, District Cycling Association, Mansa President Naib Singh, District Cycling Association President Lavdeep Singh Cheema, Sarpanch Kulwinder Singh, Gurdwara Management Committee President Tej Pratap Singh, Kuldeep Singh Bijalpur, Narinder Pal Singh Gill, Kamalpreet Singh Kapial, Rajesh Kumar Baran and Gurwinder Singh Gaggu.