Mumbai, April 1 Mumbai-based para-athlete and para-cyclist Huafrid Billimoria has achieved the qualifying classification to represent India in international para-triathlon and para-cycling events. Billimoria claimed he was the first Indian para-sportsperson to get this distinction.
Billimoria finished second in the category classification race that was held in challenging conditions in Hyderabad on Sunday.
"It was a crazy race for category classification which meant I was participating in the toughest category -- Senior Men 2 -- with more than 10 others. To finish second in 42+ degrees Celsius at 1 pm in the Hyderabad heat was very challenging. Had difficulty in breathing because of how dry it was," said Billimoria in a release on Tuesday, adding that they had to cycle at 32km average speed regardless of the conditions to make it to the podium.
The classification competition involved cycling for an 18 km time trial as part of the 1st National Para Road Cycling Championship 2025 organised by the Telangana Cycling Association.
Basavaraj T. Horaddi of Karnataka finished first with a final time of 31:46:560 minutes, Huafrid Billimoria was second with 34:12:434 and Pravin Kumar of Bihar came third with a time of 36:16:432 minutes.
It was a difficult race for Billimoria as he was bedridden for nearly the whole of 2024 with a rare autoimmune disorder. He just had four months of training including learning how to walk, because of his ailment, and only one month of cycling-centric training.
Things became even more challenging as the race, which was supposed to start at 9 am, got off only at 1 pm because of circumstances beyond anyone’s control. To compound his troubles, Billimoria had to participate after only four-and-half hours of sleep, loose motions on and off for the entire month.
"Dystonia was really bad with heatstroke and only water and ice saving my life," he said in his release.
With heat and anxiety making him feel like he was going to have a heart-attack, Billimoria at one time wanted to withdraw even before the race started. However, once the race started, testosterone kicked in and he eventually went on and completed it in second place.
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