Young Indian cyclist David Beckham, who competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, says participating in the Khelo India Youth Games has boosted his cycling career and given him the confidence to give his best when racing. international competitions.
Beckham, a native of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to prominence after winning multiple gold medals in the boys under 17 category at the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games held in Guwahati, Assam.
“I competed for the first time in Khelo India in 2020 in Guwahati, Assam and did my best there, I also set a national record. Since then, I have built my career. I went to Germany for a Nations Cup. Afterwards, I competed at Nationals, where I rewrote my own national record. I would say Khelo India is a platform that gives athletes a chance to show off their talents. Participating in Khelo India has given me the confidence that yes, I can do my best to contribute to Indian cycling,” Beckham said in an interaction facilitated by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
The fifth edition of Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) will be held in Madhya Pradesh (MP) from January 31 to February 11.
“I will not participate in the Khelo India Youth Games in Madhya Pradesh as I have become a senior. My next tournaments are the two Nations Cups in Indonesia and Egypt. After a month-long New Year’s break, I started my preparations for my tournaments. I hope I will do my best and bring laurels to the country,” added the 19-year-old athlete.
Talking about his goals in 2023, David said his main goal is to qualify for the Paris Olympics in 2024 adding “for that I have to play almost every tournament to earn so many points towards Olympic qualification .
Beckham has been training at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi since the start of his career in 2017.
Speaking about the CWG campaign, he said: “I learned a lot from the Birmingham Games because professional cyclists, who competed in the Olympics, also competed. I watched the senior pros carefully to point out mistakes that I need to work on for future events.
Sharing a story about his name, Beckham recalled that the media in London during CWG 2022 did not believe his name was David Beckham. “They kept asking me. Is David Beckham your real name? So I showed them my passport to make them believe.
His family are big fans of former England professional footballer David Beckham and decided to name him after the England winger.
Reacting to the shortcomings of India’s performance at CWG 2022, Beckham said: “We are all young riders, we have to work our techniques and our world hard to rectify the mistake we made in Birmingham. Overall, we performed well. We will continue to fight to give the best of ourselves to reach the podium on the international stage.
In 2021, Beckham won his first international medals, gold and silver in the sprint and keirin respectively, at an event in Portugal. He was also part of India’s team sprint team, alongside Ronaldo, who won bronze at the 2022 Asian Track Cycling Championships.
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