Asian Cyling: India’s Jashnjeet Kaur misses bronze

New Delhi, March 8 (IANS) Deborah was in contention for another medal in the junior girls category while Jashnjeet Kaur missed out on a bronze on Day 2 of the Asian Cycling Championships here Friday.

Tsunami survivor Deborah, who had won a bronze in the 500 metre time trial Thursday, reached the final of the 4 km junior team pursuit with Jashnjeet, Geeturaj N. and Bidhyalaxmi Devi, taking five minutes and 18.925 seconds to complete a 16 lap race at the Indira Gandhi Velodrome.

The quartet will meet girls from South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Kazakhstan in the final Saturday.

Earlier in the day, 16-year-old Jashnjeet finished almost a second behind Kazakhstan’s Yuraitis Yekaterina in the 2 km junior individual pursuit to settle for bronze. The girl from Patiala was faster until Lap 5 before the Kazakh accelerated to take a clear lead.

Asked how she rated her performance in her first ever international competition, Jashnjeet said: “The difference is mainly in coaching styles. Our coaches tell us the time we produced after a race while cyclists from other countries are guided on every lap.”

India had a lean day in the senior events with most of the cyclists failing to qualify for finals.

IANS 2013-03-08 20:04:04