Meet the first woman chief judge in a National Track Cycling Championship in India

At 17, Varshini Kavitha Ravichandran had won 72 out of 82 cycling events. She is the first woman chief judge in a National Track Cycling Championship in India.

By the time she was 17, cyclist Varshini Kavitha Ravichandran had participated in 82 sporting events, winning in 72. “I realised if I were to achieve anything in life, it was going to be because of cycling,” says the 21-year-old, who is from Mettupalayam. Varshini holds the distinction of being the first woman chief judge in a National Track Cycling Championship in India.

Varshini’s role is known as commissaire in cycling, and is similar to a referee in any sporting event. “We are the chief judge, and our decision is final,” she explains. To qualify, she took up courses including the National Commissaire Course – Level I (in the Track discipline) and Elite National Commissaire Course Level – II (in the Mountain Bike discipline) in Trivandrum.

“My first event as a commissaire was the Asian Track Cycling Championships, New Delhi in June 2022,” says Varshini, an alumnus of PSG College of Technology in the city. When she dons the commissionaire cap, all that matters to Varshini is discipline. “My parents have taught me that discipline is a principle one must hold above all else,” she says, adding that the same applies when one is cycling on the track.

Varshini is now settled in Hosur for work, and travels through the year for cycling expeditions. She won gold for Tamil Nadu in 2019 in the Track tournament held by the National School Games Federation of India. “Riders can be active for only a certain number of years, which is why I chose to become a commissaire,” she says, adding that turning a coach was also an option. “But it is a huge responsibility. As a coach, a rider’s entire career depends on us,” she says adding that her decision also had to do with her financial capacity. “Cycling is an expensive sport. My current cycle costs ₹5 lakhs, for which we had to take a loan and save up for three years.”

Varshini says that cycling has changed her persona. She adds: “It has helped me develop confidence, taught me to handle difficult situations. I owe a lot to this sport.”