President Ram Nath Kovind gifts sports bicycle to budding cyclist
Jul 31, 2020
New Delhi [India], July 31 : In a gesture to motivate the youth of the country, President of India Ram Nath Kovind gifted a racing bicycle to Riyaz, a schoolboy who dreams of excelling as a cyclist, at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday.
Riyaz, who is a class 9 student at Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya at Anand Vihar, Delhi, hails from Madhubani district of Bihar. To supplement his father's paltry income as a cook, the boy works in an eatery in Ghaziabad as a dishwasher in his free time. Since he is passionate about cycling, he practises the sport after studies and work. 
"I can now train well with this gifted cycle, as I didn't have a cycle till now. I look forward to participating at international level, and win medals for the country," said Riyaz while speaking to ANI.
"Your story should serve as worthy of emulation for the country's youth who must come forward for nation-building by dint of their dedication, hard work, courage and honesty," said President Kovind while giving his best wishes to Riyaz.
Riyaz has taken professional training from coach Pramod Sharma, and regularly trains at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi. He had to borrow sports cycle for his practice, and wanted a cycle of his own.
"His wish has finally been granted on the occasion of the Eid. The President came to know of Riyaz's story of struggle through reports in the media," read a release by the President's Secretariat.
"In 2017, he had won a bronze medal in the Delhi State Cycling Championship. He went on to participate in a school games event in Guwahati, according to the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad, and achieved the fourth rank at the national level," it added.
