TN cyclist Sreenath Lakshmikanth, silver medallist at the 37th National Games, says his hard work has paid off

Cyclist Sreenath Lakshmikanth's journey to two silver medals at the 37th National Games, Goa, began with cycling to school. He runs a cycling academy in Ooty and has been supported by Cochin Bikers Club and The Bike Store. He moved to Palakkad to acclimatise for the Games. He was mentored by Milan Josy and Naveen John, and trained in Belgium. He opened an LBB franchise in Ooty and started coaching. He wants to help others reach their goals and win medals for the country.

Cyclist Sreenath Lakshmikanth’s journey to the two silver medals at the recently concluded 37th National Games, Goa, started out of necessity. It started when he began cycling to and from school, TD School at Thuravoor, Cherthala, in Kerala’s Alappuzha district. He cycled close to 10 kilometres one way, as he could not afford the bus fare. Today, besides representing Tamil Nadu at National cycling events, he runs a cycling academy, SL7 High Altitude Training Centre in Ooty.  

“I am satisfied with the result at this year’s National Games. All my hard work has paid off,” says the 27 year old over the phone from Ooty. He won the medals in the Road Race (120 kilometres) and Individual Time Trial (41 kilometres) categories; last year he won a bronze in the Mass Start category. Preparation for the big races has been all about working hard, “I moved to Palakkad temporarily before this year’s National Games in order to get acclimatised to the heat to be well-prepared for Goa,” he says.  

He confesses he didn’t start out wanting to be a cyclist, “I was more interested in ultra endurance running, however I got into cycling in competitions while I was at the Maharaja’s College, Kochi.” He acknowledges the support from Kochi-based Cochin Bikers Club, and The Bike Store for their support when he started out in the sport. 

Competing at inter-collegiate and university level events and winning medals were a boost to his confidence. Following his performance at the 2014 State sport’s meet, he was picked for the Kerala team.

Cyclist Milan Josy, his senior on the Kerala team, showed him the ropes of training for competitions. The next year, in 2015,he won a bronze medal at a State-level competition, which strengthened his resolve to focus more on road cycling and train accordingly. His hard work paid off and in 2017, he won a gold at the State meet. The first real breakthrough for Sreenath came when he joined Cicolo Team Racing, gaining Naveen John (the current Road Cycling ITT gold medallist at the Goa Games) as mentor and moving to Bengaluru.

“That was the turning point for me as a cyclist. Not only did they train me, but I also got an opportunity to train in Belgium for a month, and the next year, in 2019, for two months. The training style was different, it was more technology-based which monitored your heart rate and speed; it tested the ability of an athlete to perform and get an idea of what endurance is,” says Sreenath. Back home, he understood the work the sport demanded.  

He later moved to Life Behind Bars Racing (LBB Racing), a Bengaluru-based bicycle and equipment store which has a racing club. Around this time, realisation struck that he had no earnings for himself despite competing for five years. “I had help from people I knew, who helped upgrade my equipment and travel expenses. But I had no income of my own and I wanted to do something on my own,” he clarifies. An opportunity presented itself in the form of an LBB franchise opportunity in Ooty.