Army War College Mhow organised Combat Cyclothon at Mhow to Commemorate 71 st Republic Day and mark the beginning of celebrations of AWC Golden Jubilee, which will be celebrated on April 21, 2021.
The event was conducted in following categories- Ultra Cycling (200 KM) –Jan 24, 2020, Josh Cycling (100 KM) –Jan 24, 2020, Amateur Cycling (Jam Gate & Back, 56 KM) –Jan 25, 2020 and Fun Cycling (Patal Pani & back, 18 KM) –Jan 25, 2020.
The Cyclothon was heavily subscribed by veterans, ladies, gentleman and children. Around 1600 persons participated including 655 school going children. The age group of participants varied from five years to 70 years.
Cycling has evoked high interest in Mhow with this event and the active Cycling Clubs ofMhow, like “Gears and Bears Cycling Club” of Army War College, which was conceived and brought into being by Lt Gen Dushyant Singh, PVSM, AVSM, Commandant, Army War College, was at the forefront of organising and participation in the event.
The Ultra Cycling category (200 KM) was subscribed with 50 participants and first position was bagged by Sachin Kumar Singh, who completed the route in 8 hr, 27 min, 15 sec. He was awarded with a Firefox Bicycle. Pankaj Pardeshi and Ajay Yadav stood second and third respectively. To motivate the cyclists, Lt Gen Dushyant Singh participated in the Ultra Cycling, event finishing the route in 9 hr 32 min making it in Top-10.
The Josh Cycling of 100 KM evoked a high josh in the cycling from ladies. The participants travelled on Mhow – Manpur - Ratlam highway to pedal the route. Nb Sub Gurdip Singh stood first in this category by completing the route in 4 hr, 8 min, 28 sec and was awarded with a Firefox cycle. Col Jaideep Sengupta, VrC, Retd and Capt Gulshan Kumar bagged second and third position respectively Usha Singh, President Family Welfare Organization, Army War College also participated in the event and successfully completed it.
The Amateur category of 56 KM was flagged off by Lt Gen Milind Bhurke, VSM, Commandant MCTE at 7 am on Jan 25, 2020 with 172 participants. Traversing the scenic beauty of interiors of Madhya Pradesh, the cyclists travelled to the Heritage site of Jam Gate.
Mixing pleasure with the competition, Ramkrishna Patel stood first in the event. Riflemen Ravi Gurung came in second and Maj SK Dey stood third.
Fun Cycling had the participation of 1300 cyclists from school students, NCC cadets and ladies. The cyclists went through the fold of grounds, enjoying the outskirts of Mhow and relishing the greenery around.
While enjoying the music of military band, peppy songs and scenic beauty of the 300 ft waterfall at Patal Pani, the cyclists paid homage to the legendary Tantya Bheel, the tribal Robin Hood.
Chief Guest Sumitra Mahajan, Former Lok Sabha Speaker, gave away the prizes for all events. While addressing the gathering, she said the Army and Society has a very strong bonding and the training activities of institutes at Mhow reinvigorate the human soul and body, motivating us to rededicate us to the nation. She praised the Army War College for taking monumental step of orgaising this cycling event, rekindling the appreciation towards cycling and introducing this sport to our new generation of children. She highlighted that Indore has been a Cycle city 50 years ago and is again moving in that direction now. She complimented Lt Gen
Dushyant Singh and Usha Singh for their accomplishments in the Cyclothon, where both of them completed 200 km and 100 km event in excellent timings and proving that age is just a number while any goal can be successfully achieved through sheer grit, dedication and passion.
Commandant Army War College felicitated the felicitators of the event by presenting memento to Rajesh Kumar, CGM, SBI, Naveen Saini, Proprietor, Bhanwarilal Mithaiwala and Mahesh Karda, Proprietor, Cycle World Indore. At the end Col Vivek Bhat was felicitated for the excellent conduct of the event by and his team of officers, JCOs and other ranks.
