Formation | 1946 |
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Website | www |
The Cycling Federation of India (Hindi: भारतीय साइकिलिंग महासंघ) is the national governing body of cycle racing in India. It is a member of the UCI and the Asian Cycling Confederation.
Cycling as a sport was introduced in India thanks to the effort of actor and sportsman Sh. Jankidas in the mid 1930s. It reached its international level when Jankidas, the lone Indian cyclist participated in the British Empire Games at Sydney (Australia) in 1938 with Swami Jagan Nath accompanied as manager. With the pioneering of these two, Indian cycling was able to secure its affiliation to the National Cyclists' Union of England. A few years later, another stalwart, Sohrab H. Bhoot of Bombay, joined Jankidas to form the National Cyclists' Federation of India in 1946, and they registered this new body at the UCI. The Cycling Federation of India then sent teams of cyclists to the Olympics, the Asian Games, and major international cycling events – for example, the London Olympics in 1948, the Warsaw-Berlin-Prague Race (the Peace Race) in 1954-55 or the Tokyo International Championships in 1961.
India cylists at the 1948 Olympics, London
India cyclists at the 1948 Olympics (standing, l to r: Bhoot (in jacket with hat), x, x, Nariman Saugar (in jacket with cap); seated, l to r: x (in blazer), x, Malcolm, Mehra, x)