Back After Injury, 24-Year-Old Supercross Champion From Meghalaya Eyes International Titles
Being down for some time due to an injury, 24-year-old Banteilang Jyrwa has now returned to the track. His ultimate goal is to bring home an international title and make his country proud.
Banteilang Jyrwa, a 24-year-old national supercross champion from Meghalaya, is grabbing eyeballs by excelling in one of the toughest sports in the world. After winning the Indian National Supercross Championship title in 2022, Jyrwa is now aiming to compete in international Supercross Championship tournaments overseas.
Being down for some time due to an injury, Jyrwa has now returned to the track. After a long time, he was able to bag the top position in the 'Indian expert category” in the first National Supercross Championship event held in Coimbatore earlier this year. Jyrwa now aims to compete in all the national supercross championship events held across India. His ultimate goal is to compete in the Expert class abroad and bring home an international title, chief among them being the FIM Supercross World Championship, and make his country proud.
Jyrwa's journey was not easy, having started with a borrowed bike and having no technical expertise. However, he persevered and continued to train tirelessly, even after facing several injuries. Jyrwa is now an official rider for a motorcycle brand Factory Racing in the Indian Expert class. He believes that people from the Northeastern part of India have the skills and "nature-made tracks" to excel in motocross, a physically demanding and high-octane sport.
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. Motocross is a physically demanding sport that is usually held in all-weather conditions. The major difference between supercross and motocross is that the former is held on specially built dirt tracks made of steep jumps and obstacles, while the latter comprises longer dirt courses in a natural environment.
A year ago, Jyrwa made the hill state proud by winning the Indian National Supercross Championship 2022 title. What made the title extra special was that it had come to the Northeast after a gap of 29 years. Before Jyrwa, Diganata Hazarika from Assam won the coveted title in 1993.
FROM WOODS TO TRACK: A TOUGH JOURNEY
Jyrwa's journey started during his college days in 2017 when he was invited by his cousins to join them for a ride in the woods. Having tasted the cold winds blowing past past his face and the roaring engine under him, Jyrwa soon started saving money to buy his dream bike. It took him a little over six months to save up the money borrowed from friends and family to buy his motorbike.
Jyrwa began his racing career at a motocross championship held in Assam’s Guwahati. Jyrwa managed to clinch the third spot in the novice class despite having no technical expertise. After that, Jyrwa never looked back. He got elevated to the expert class with rigorous training and went on to participate in several events in the country.
Speaking to ABP Live, Jyrwa said, “Motocross is one of the riskiest and most expensive sports in the world. Proper gears don’t come cheap. But without them, the risk becomes very high. I have sustained many injuries, but they never stopped me.” “It is not that difficult for someone from the Northeast to compete in big events. We have got the skills and, most importantly, the natural tracks. We are gifted with hilly and natural terrains where we can train ourselves and hone our skills.”
A leading team soon called him to a camp in Bengaluru in 2022 and provided him with better training and a better machine. Jyrwa then went on to win eight successive supercross national championships in 2022.
Speaking about his parents, Jyrwa said, “When others question my parents for allowing me to take up this risky sport, they reply 'if your child has a talent, you should never force them to hide it'. You should support them so that they can improve further. If you don’t support them, they will still do it, which is even more dangerous, as you will not know how safely they are doing that. It will also stop them from moving ahead in life.”
“I have a talent for Motorsport; it’s more important for me to know that I can teach others and share my talent with the next generation. If someone becomes better than me, this will be a big achievement for me, rather than only running for the podiums," he said.
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