Three hundred women on road bikes, on a stretch of tarmac at Kangrail Chowk, Chak Bhalwal, is not a sight Jammu sees often. That was the field at the Asmita Khelo India Women Cycling League — Jammu (Road), which ran on 26 and 27 September.
Riders came from districts across Jammu and Kashmir to race in two categories, Junior Girls and Senior Women. Day one was the individual time trial — each rider alone against the clock, which is the format that strips out tactics and tells you exactly who is quickest.
The time trial results
Senior Women:
- 1. Ulfat Mushtaq (Baramulla)
- 2. Sunekha (Jammu)
- 3. Supriya (Jammu)
Junior Girls:
- 1. Yumna Parvaiz (Srinagar)
- 2. Sobia Manzoor (Baramulla)
- 3. Manyata (Kathua)
Two of the three senior podium places went to Jammu district riders, and Kathua's Manyata took junior bronze — so the belt was properly represented rather than making up numbers. Day two was given over to mass-start races in both categories, followed by prize distribution.
Why the time trial is the honest one
A road race and a time trial ask for different things. In a mass-start race you can sit in a bunch, save energy in someone else's slipstream and win on a sprint. In a time trial you set off alone at fixed intervals with nobody to follow, and the clock records exactly what you had. Riders call it the race of truth for that reason — there is no tactical cover.
Which is why a district rider finishing second and third in a senior time trial against a UT-wide field is a real result rather than a lucky one.
What Asmita actually is
Asmita is the Sports Authority of India's dedicated women's league programme under Khelo India, and that matters more than the name suggests. It exists specifically to create competitive fixtures for women in sports where the women's calendar is thin or non-existent — which, for cycling in J&K, it largely was. A league means recurring races, not a one-off exhibition, and recurring races are the only thing that produces riders.
The event was organised by the Cycling Federation of India with support from the Cycling Association of J&K. SP Rural Jammu Ravinder Singh was chief guest; CFI officials Rahul, Dr Vikesh Kumar and Sanjeev supervised.
If you ride
The route in is the Cycling Association of J&K, whose office-bearers include general secretary Om Parkash alongside S. S. Gill and Ravi Salgotra. The entry barrier for a road league is genuinely lower than it looks — a roadworthy bike and a helmet get you to a district time trial, and the time trial is where selectors look first, because it cannot be faked.
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