Paris Olympics 2024: Kerala man cycles 22000 km across 30 countries to cheer for Team India
As Team India is eyeing their best Olympics ever in Paris 2024, millions of fans back home are cheering for their favorite athletes. Fayis Asraf Ali is also a huge fan of Team India and stars athletes like Neeraj Chopra, but unlike most of us, he will be cheering for them in Paris.
The 37-year-old from Kerala's Kozhikode just completed an epic 22,000 km cycle ride across 30 countries to reach?Paris on time for the Olympics.? ?
From engineering to cycling
An engineer by qualification, Ali gave up his promising career in the Middle East to take care of his ailing father in 2015, until he passed away in 2018. During this time, he also started having some health issues, which made him realize the importance of staying fit.
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"Those three years made me realize that health is the most important thing in life, not money. One fine morning I saw a couple of cyclists touring and thought of starting to ride," Ali told PTI.
First solo ride
So he purchased a cycle, and for his first solo ride, Ali cycled all the way from Calicut to Singapore. Paris was Ali's second solo ride, and the French capital was initially not in his plan.
Neeraj Chopra inspired him to visit Paris?
On August 15, 2022, Ali set off with a mission to cycle from "India to London to spread peace and unity." After crossing 17 countries, he stopped in Budapest one August afternoon last year, when he came to know that Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra was staying across the street for the World Championships. Thanks to the help of an athletics coach in Kerala, Ali was able to briefly meet Chopra.
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"I got a few minutes to talk to the Indian athletes and Neeraj told me since 'you are going to London why don't you come to Paris for the Olympics,'" Ali said.?
"I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to see him again in Paris so I altered my plan a bit and procured the required visa and cycled to the UK before ending my journey here," he added.
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