Indian cyclists finish at back in men’s 4000m individual pursuit

India’s challenge in the men’s 4000m individual pursuit ended in the qualification stage as both Dinesh Kumar and Harshveer Singh Sekhon finished towards the bottom of the standings, while Australia underlined its dominance in the event at the Chris Hoy Velodrome during the Commonwealth Games here on Friday.

Dinesh was the better-placed of the two Indians, finishing 17th among 23 riders with a time of 4:29.267 (average speed 53.479 kmph), more than 25 seconds behind Australia’s Oliver Bleddyn, who topped the qualification in a Commonwealth Games record time of 4:04.132 (58.984 kmph). Harshveer ended 19th after clocking 4:35.524 (52.264 kmph).

Dinesh began cautiously, covering the opening 1000m in 1:11.875, before significantly improving his pace over the next two kilometres with splits of 1:05.175 and 1:04.379. However, he was unable to sustain the momentum and slowed in the final kilometre, clocking 1:07.838.

The qualifying session was dominated by Australia, which placed three riders in the top four. Bleddyn, the reigning Olympic team pursuit champion from the Paris Games and a silver medallist in the team pursuit at the 2025 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Santiago, carried his impressive form into Glasgow by setting the Games record.

He edged compatriot Conor Leahy, who qualified second in 4:04.147, by just 0.015 seconds to set up an all-Australian gold medal race.

The bronze medal contest will feature Matthew Bostock of the Isle of Man, who qualified third in 4:04.700, against Australia’s James Moriarty, fourth in 4:05.677.

In the 4000m individual pursuit, the two fastest riders from the qualification round advance to the gold medal race, while the third and fourth fastest qualifiers compete for the bronze medal.

Australia will now be assured of at least two medals in the discipline after its commanding display in qualification. 

The Indian cyclists endured a disappointing outing in the men’s keirin competition, finishing well down the order in the tactical, high-speed qualifying heats, with the country’s leading sprinter David Beckham emerging as the best performer among the three from the country.

Competing in Heat 3, the 22-year-old Beckham finished fifth, clocking +0.780 seconds behind heat winner Daniel James Barber of Australia.