Who is David Beckham? Meet Indian Cyclist Set to Compete at Commonwealth Games 2022
The 19-year-old cyclist from Andaman and Nicobar has risen to fame for his exploits in the sport. His grandfather was a huge fan of the former England superstar. ‘My family is a huge fan of David Beckham, so they named me after him’ the youngster said in an interview.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 08, 2022 and India will be making its 18th appearance at the event. The country has sent a 322-member squad which includes 215 athletes – 108 men and 107 women. Amongst them is cyclist David Beckham, who will spearhead India’s challenge in the sport at the quadrennial showpiece. Afreen Hyder, Kashmiri Female Taekwondo Athlete, Aiming for Olympics 2024
India are one of the most successful nations in the Commonwealth Games history as they are fourth on the all-time list with 503 medals. However, they are yet to enjoy any success in the cycling events and David Beckham is hoping to be the first cyclist from India to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Who Is David Beckham?
Named after Manchester United legend and current Inter Miami FC owner, David Beckham, the 19-year-old cyclist from Andaman and Nicobar has risen to fame for his exploits in the sport. His grandfather was a huge fan of the former England superstar. ‘My family is a huge fan of David Beckham, so they named me after him’ the youngster said in an interview.
The Andaman teenager admitted that he used to play football and participated in the Subroto Cup tournament – an inter-school football competition held in New Delhi. However, he took up cycling at his grandfather’s insistence. It was difficult for the youngster to get advanced cycling training in Andaman so he moved to bigger cities in an aim of improving himself. He started training in New Delhi in 2017 and has since taken huge strides.
The 19-year-old made headlined in 2020 when he won the 200-metre cycling event in Guwahati Youth Games. This saw him earn a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech. Addressing the nation in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on January 26, 2020 PM Modi mentioned the youngster by saying ‘If I now take the name of David Beckham, you will wonder whether I'm the legendary International Footballer. But now we also have David Beckham amidst us and he has won a gold medal at the Youth Games in Guwahati. That too in the 200-metre sprint event in cycling’.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 22, 2022 09:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).