It was the road cycling event at the Khelo India University Games (KIUG) 2025 and among the riders cutting through the cold air was a young woman whose journey to the start line had been far longer and harder than the 30 kilometres she was about to race.
Photo: SNS
On a breezy Tuesday morning along the Jaipur-Agra Highway, the familiar hush of early traffic was replaced by the hum of racing tyres and the rising excitement of spectators.
It was the road cycling event at the Khelo India University Games (KIUG) 2025 and among the riders cutting through the cold air was a young woman whose journey to the start line had been far longer and harder than the 30 kilometres she was about to race.
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Pooja Bishnoi, a 22-year-old from a small village in Bikaner and the daughter of a farmer, wearing bib number-44, wasn’t just another athlete in the lineup. She was a story of grit and defiance-someone who had pedalled her way through obstacles far greater than steep roads or tight curves.
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By the end of the event, she would become the first athlete to win a medal for Rajasthan, the host state, at the seventh edition of the Games, representing Maharaja Ganga Singh University.
The women’s Elite 30 km individual Time Trial began with the explosive start typical of competitive cycling—but the surprise came early. Pooja surged ahead, finishing the first lap of 10 kms in the lead.
Her rhythm was firm, her posture unshaken, and her confidence infectious. Coaches along the track exchanged startled glances; spectators leaned forward as if their collective breath might push her further. It seemed like a story waiting to turn into an upset.
But cycling is a sport where experience often proves decisive. Riding for Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, the seasoned Meenakshi Rohilla, an international cyclist from the National Centre of Excellence, Patiala, with medals from the Asia Cup and Asian Championships, began pulling ahead in the subsequent laps. Meenakshi eventually sealed the gold with a time of 45:31.907, while Pooja secured silver with 46:52.003, a performance that resonated far beyond the numbers.
For Pooja, the medal wasn’t a consolation, it was a statement. “I’m very happy with my result,” she said afterward, her smile wide and unmistakably honest. “I was leading after the first lap, but Meenakshi is very experienced. I had done a 100 km race just two days ago, so I felt some fatigue. Still, to win the first medal for my university in our home state’s first KIUG means a lot.”
Her journey into cycling began at 16, encouraged by her elder brother, a former cyclist himself. But the early years were tough. Money was scarce, training was demanding, and self-doubt was an unwelcome but frequent companion. “For the first two years, I often felt I had chosen the wrong sport,” she admits. “But my family and relatives supported me, and slowly things changed.”
A significant part of that change came through the ASMITA (Achieving Sports Milestone by Inspiring Women Through Action) scholarship, which has supported her through multiple zonal and national events. Pooja has received nearly ₹2 lakhs through ASMITA alone—funds that helped her buy essential equipment and upgrade her training.
“For girls like me, coming from poor families, even ₹10,000 is huge. ASMITA and KIUG have opened doors that didn’t exist earlier.” she says.
Today, as cycling debuts as a medal event at KIUG and Rajasthan hosts the Games for the first time, Pooja stands not just as a medallist, but as a symbol of what opportunity can create and what determination can achieve. Her silver medal glints like a promise: that India’s rural daughters, too, can race their way into national history.
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