Riding the hurdles with a winning spirit Premium

Hyderabad-based Agasthi Chandrasekhar is the first Indian to win a medal in the BMX National Series 2023-Series 1

“When I fall and get hurt, I rest a little, ice the spot, recover and think of how not to repeat the same mistake,” says Agasthi Chandrasekhar, the Hyderabad-based 14-year-old who bagged a silver medal at the BMX National Series 2023-Series 1, held at the Nilai Race Track in Malaysia.  Agasthi is the first Indian to compete in Race BMX and win a medal. 

BMX race is formally known as Bicycle Motocross, a self-propelled pedal sport. In this sport contestant/riders race in groups of up to 8 around a specially designed track competing with the goal of getting to the finish, fastest. Riders are tested on dirt tracks with rollers, jumps, and turns to challenge their skills. The track usually consists of a starting gate, a groomed, a serpentine, dirt race course made of various jumps and rollers and a finish line.

After that race, Agasthi continued training in Malaysia for another two weeks before he headed to Thailand to compete in the Thailand BMX Cup – Series 2. He will soon be off to Las Vegas to train under Conner Fields — a former BMX Olympian. He will be training for a big league race — USA BMX National Race to be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 5-6.

MetroPlus chats with Agasthi, who is in Hyderabad for a short break.

Our first question is —Does he get nervous each time he is on the track? “Yes, all the time. Every rider is a champion in his own way. So when on the track, it is all about winning and no mercy.” 

Agasthi shares his experience of the Malaysian BMX Series-1: “It was an Olympic-size track and my first experience in competing on a big track with strong riders. This race saw riders from China, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and the UK. I qualified for the finals and finished seventh. This was a learning experience as I competed with champions from different nations.” 

Agasthi — along with his mother Anupa Sekhar and 10-year-old sister Adya — spends most of his time in Malaysia where he trains. Anupa adds, “Malaysia is like a second home for us though we have a tourist visa and stay at an Airbnb. Agasthi will be finishing four more races in Malaysia and Thailand each, this year.” Meanwhile, Agasthi is also planning to debut in the World Junior Championships at Scotland later this year.