SRINAGAR: “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.”
This was the mantra followed by cyclist Adil Teli, a 23-year-old youth from Narbal Budgam, who pedalled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in just eight days, covering a distance of 3,600 kilometres and set a Guinness Book of World Record for the fastest Kashmir to Kanyakumari journey on cycle.
Adil, who started his journey from City Center Ghanta Ghar Lal Chowk from 7:30 am on March 22 after being flagged off by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole, completed the distance in eight days, 1 hour and 39 minutes by reaching the destination on March 30 at 7:30 am.
Speaking about his remarkable record, the young cyclist said that it was not an easy task and involved a lot of training. “On March 22, I started my journey of dreams with the active support of divisional administration. That day it was raining all day from Srinagar to Punjab and the bad weather made my journey very difficult,” an emotional Adil said.
The young Cyclist faced several health issues during the entire journey but his determination made it easier the journey for him. “I faced several issues during the travel. After the 7th day of my journey, my body started to show signs of weakness. My knees started to swell with extreme pain making it difficult to pedal but I only kept the goal of setting Guinness world record in my mind,” Adil said.
The Cyclist acknowledges that after his body started to drain on the 7th day of the journey, he had thoughts of quitting. “After the extreme pain due to swelled knees, I had thoughts of quitting but I talked to my mother who motivated me to continue and finally I achieved the Guinness world record,” Adil says with satisfaction.
The Cyclist praised the J&K Administration for their timely support for embarking on this prestigious journey. “I am grateful to J&K Administration for their timely support especially the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, who got me the permission to travel through the then under construction Banihal-Qazigund Tunnel.” He adds that the administration also provided him help on the risky and landslide-prone areas of Srinagar-Jammu highway during the travel.
Further talking about how cycling became his passion, Adil said, “From 2014, I starting representing Jammu and Kashmir at the national level continuously and this amplified my interest in cycling.”
He adds that the 2019 cycling expedition from Srinagar to Leh made him passionate about cycling and motivated him to realize his capabilities in cycling.
Talking about his preparation for this journey, the young cyclist says that the Srinagar-Leh cycling expedition motivated him that he can beat the Guinness Book of World Record for the fastest Kashmir to Kanyakumari journey on cycle. “The Srinagar-Leh cycling journey changed my way of cycling and I got more passionate about this sport. It motivated me to beat the Guinness World Record,” says Adil. He adds that I planned for this journey for almost a year and went outside J&K for training for six months. “During six months training, I used to do cycling of 600 to 700 km per week and after that, I applied for Guinness World Record in November 2020 and it was accepted in February 2021.”
Talking about his family’s support in realizing his dreams, Adil said, “My parents have been my inspiration and they have supported me throughout the journey.” He adds that his mother has been his motivating factor for achieving this feat.
In his message to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, Adil said that the youth should stay away from drug addiction or other social evils and take sports as a career. “Youngsters should take sports as a career and they should take part in sports activities which will make them healthy and also, make themselves and their areas proud.”
