Rigor and reward

Baroda boy Firdaus Patva raced ahead on his bicycle in a 16 km ghat section from Jhansi to take first place in the event at an open inter-college meet organized by the Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management on the occasion of World Hospitality Day on September 27, 2006. "It was an outright victory. The cyclist who stood second came in 16 minutes later,” says the 20-year-old. "It was a 60 km cycling marathon. Of the 750 participants, only the leading bunch were allowed to compete in the mountain section,” adds his father, veteran sportsman Jehangir Patva.

On October 15, Firdaus sprinted ahead in the final moments to win the Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar road race. "This was a state championship and selection for the national level,” Firdaus informed Parsiana on the e-mail. Three days later he stood first once again in the 60 km Baroda-Halol-Baroda road race which was an inter-university selection meet. November saw Firdaus pedalling hard at Jabalpur. "The first race was a 30 km individual time trial where cyclists start at intervals of two minutes. I got sixth place with a time of 48 minutes, on an up-and-down road, four minutes more than the cyclist with the fastest time,” he says. In the second race, which was of 120 km, Firdaus left at the 30 km mark "as I was alone, with no team support.” Riding alone,

Firdaus Patva: committed to cycling

particularly in the dacoit areas of Madhya Pradesh, is very dangerous, Jehangir tells us. "In such long races, the official pilots and vehicles are only at the front and back. There are vast lonely stretches where anything can happen. States strong in cycling like Punjab or Maharashtra send a group of 25 riders to act as pacers and support each other. Where there is no team backing it becomes very hard to achieve,” he relates. In competitive cycling, there are riders who have no compunction about cheating, he adds.

"Each trip to the nationals costs around Rs 5,000-7,000. The monthly expenses for cycling come to approximately Rs 4,000 including coach fees, extra diet, petrol for the escort, etc,” says Firdaus. "Support along the route is essential. If there is any problem with the cycle, the fault has to be overcome immediately,” adds Jehangir who bears the expenses for petrol, etc and escorts his son during a race. Tyres, tubes, rims, etc have already cost upwards of Rs 15,000, states Firdaus.

Currently studying in Baroda for a diploma in hotel management, Firdaus aims to be a F&B (food and beverage) manager. He is simultaneously pursuing through distance education his BBA (Bachelor in Business Administration) and BCom. The international class ‘Look’ cycle he rides was donated by various Zoroastrian organizations. The Panchayat and the Parsis of Baroda, the Bombay Parsi Pun­cha­yet, the Dorabji Tata Trust and other well-wishers have chipped in to raise the money required. "The cycle is a wonderful asset, but imported parts like sprint wheels, etc are very expensive. You need different tyres for track cycling and road racing. There is also the constant tension of damage to the cycle. When there is a big bunch of cyclists riding at speed, there is always the possibility of a collision, intentional or unintentional. It is so difficult for a retired person like me to meet all these expenses. We are desperately in need of funds for running costs,” says the worried father who was a former Mr Asia and five times national champion in bodybuilding. Recipient of the Shiv Chha­trapati Award in 1976, Jehangir states that the award now includes a cash prize of five lakh rupees, plus Rs 25,000 over the next three years. "In my time we did not receive a dime! I have 58 gold medals and 45 title trophies but that will not help in meeting costs for the sporting activities of my two sons, Firdaus and Navroz,” he bemoans. Jehangir is the founder of the Hercules Gym in Baroda which is run on a no-profit, no-loss basis. Moving from Bombay to Baroda some years ago, Jehangir worked for the Central Bank of India and participated in a range of sports including shot put, discus, bodybuilding, weightlifting and powerlifting.

Firdaus’ cycling achievements include participation in the Asian Games trial at Ludhiana in November 2005, representing Gujarat state at the nationals in Bhopal, Hyderabad, Haryana, Calcutta, Poona, etc from 2000-2006 and representing Baroda and winning at state meets from 1999, as per his bio data. "Firdaus has received merit awards for excellence in sports from the Parsi Panchayat, Vadodara for five consecutive years from 1999,” writes Baroda resident Jimmy Havewala in a letter to Parsiana. Besides cycling, Firdaus has represented Gujarat state several times in swimming, taken part in skating events as well and is a brown belt in shotokan karate.