By the time she was 17, cyclist Varshini Kavitha Ravichandran had participated in 82 sporting events, winning in 72. “I realised if I were to achieve anything in life, it was going to be because of cycling,” says the 21-year-old, who is from Mettupalayam. Varshini holds the distinction of being the first woman chief judge in a National Track Cycling Championship in India.
Varshini’s role is known as commissaire in cycling, and is similar to a referee in any sporting event. “We are the chief judge, and our decision is final,” she explains. To qualify, she took up courses including the National Commissaire Course – Level I (in the Track discipline) and Elite National Commissaire Course Level – II (in the Mountain Bike discipline) in Trivandrum.
“My first event as a commissaire was the Asian Track Cycling Championships, New Delhi in June 2022,” says Varshini, an alumnus of PSG College of Technology in the city. When she dons the commissionaire cap, all that matters to Varshini is discipline. “My parents have taught me that discipline is a principle one must hold above all else,” she says, adding that the same applies when one is cycling on the track.
