The Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) president is not happy with the venue and facilities for the ongoing Asian Cycling Championships here.
Cho Hee Wook, who is also the vice-president of the Union Cyclists Internationale (UCI) is not at all impressed with the maintenance of the venue — Indira Gandhi Indoor Velodrome — after the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Even the visa problems, which forced Iran team to wait until the eleventh hour and left Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq unable to participate, left the ACC chief disappointed.
“Two years ago, during the CWG, it looked world-class. I spoke about it with UCI and told them, how good this velodrome is. I praised it a lot but I am disappointed with the maintenance,” Cho told the reporters on the sidelines of the Championships.
“I am not happy with it. I thought they would have maintained it properly.
“But, as you can see, they have not. Couple of electronic gadgets are also not working. They should have got it done for such an important event. The athletes are complaining that food is not that good, although the accommodation provided to them is alright.”
Regarding the visa issue, which created problems for Iran and other countries, Cho said that if these sorts of problems continue, then India will find it difficult to host upcoming competitions. The visa issue was solved only on Tuesday and allowed a late entry of Asian powerhouse Iran.
“I feel terribly sorry. Sport is sport. Political problems should not interfere into sports. If these problems persist, India will find it difficult for the future assignments,” Cho said.
But overall, the ACC president was satisfied with the arrangements for the ongoing championships. “India has very good potential and it has the capability to develop cycling,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ACC congress will meet on March 12 and in attendance would be UCI chief Pat Macquaid.
“We will be deciding our representatives to the UCI and I would want CFI President Parwinder Singh Dhindsa to become a Managing Board member of the UCI,” Cho said.
Four cyclists injured
In an unfortunate event during the Men’s Junior Scratch race, at least four athletes were injured after UAE’s Talal al Balooshi slipped during the race. Following the slip, others collided with each other and fell down. Japan’s Hiroki Moriguchi was the most hurt with an injury in abdomen.
After the incident, Nikita Klevanov, who was leading the race went off his route and was disqualified later for not holding the line. The gold was won by Irwandie lakasek of Malaysia, while, Hei lau Wan of Hong Kong finished second and Yi lin li got the bronze medal.