Sri Vijaya Puram, Nov.01: Andaman and Nicobar Islands clinched the men’s elite team sprint gold at the National Track Cycling Championship 2026 in Ranchi, defeating the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) with a faster finish to secure the national title.
The island team, comprising Esow Alban, David Beckham Elkatohchoongo and Chamberlain, clocked 1 minute 2.865 seconds in the team sprint final, finishing ahead of RSPB, which recorded 1:04.162. The result placed the Andaman and Nicobar Islands team at the top of the men’s elite team sprint event.
The victory featured three cyclists with experience across national and international competitions. Esow Alban, who hails from Kinyuka in Nicobar, emerged as one of India’s prominent track sprinters after becoming the first Indian to win a medal at the Junior Track Cycling World Championships in 2018, where he secured silver in the keirin event in Switzerland.
Alban subsequently contributed to India’s gold-medal-winning men’s team sprint campaign at the 2019 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships in Germany. He also won silver in the individual sprint and bronze in the keirin at the competition.
David Beckham Elkatohchoongo, born in 2003 in the islands, has also represented India at major international competitions, including the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. He holds the Indian national record in the Flying 200m Time Trial, clocking 9.671 seconds at the UCI Track Nations Cup in Konya, Türkiye.
At the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Elkatohchoongo became the first Indian cyclist to reach the quarterfinals of a sprint event.
The championship victory adds another national title to the competitive record of the islands’ track cycling contingent.
