60-year-old Pannalal achieves a rare feat

Nagpur, Sept 27

Age doesn't matter if you have strong willpower and determination to do something in life. Take the example of city cyclist Pannalal Sewak who has become the first cyclist from Central India who has achieved the title of Super Randonneur (SR) at the age of 60.

To become Super Randonneur the cyclist has to complete 200 km, 3,00 km, 400 km and 600 km brevets in one calendar year. Earlier some city cyclists have achieved this feat but not in the age group of Pannalal.

After achieving the feat, Pannalal received the certificate from Audax Club Parisien (Paris).

While talking to Lokmat Times Wardhmannagar based businessman Pannalal said “ If you have strong willpower then the age hardly matters. I started cycling under the guidance of ultra cyclist Dr Amit Samarth three years back and it has helped me a lot in building self-confidence, endurance and developing concentration particularly in the pandemic period,” he said.

Pannalal said generally cyclists start the Super Randonneur from 200 km to 600 but I started with 600 km and ended with 200. Elaborating further he said in first stage of 600 km he covered the distance from Nagpur-Deori,Deori-Nagpur, Nagpur-Amravati and Amravati-Nagpur in 36 hours. “My confidence gradually increased and then I covered 400 km, 300 km and 200 km on different routes”.

The rides were not smooth for Pannalal at all. During 400 km ride, he met with an accident near Butibori and fractured his hand. “ Even after the injury I didn't lose my confidence and completed remaining 240 kilometre cycling with a fractured hand”, he said.

Now Pannalal is preparing form Pune-Goa 640 km cycle ride which is called as Deccan Cliffhanger in December. “ I have started the preparation for this ride. In this event, the cyclist has to cover the distance within 32 hours and I am quite confident that I will do it”, said optimistic Pannalal.

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“Pannalal has achieved a great feat even in old age. He has become a source of inspiration for those who generally leave the sports field after achieving the age of 40. Regular training, discipline and food habits are the keys to success. Best luck to him for future endeavors.”

Dr Amit Samarth, Ultra cysllist and coach