Sabina Kumari started out on a modest track in Jharkhand’s Chatra district, far from the glitz of an indoor velodrome. On May 9, 2025, the 18-year-old, daughter of a daily-wage worker and a housewife, bagged three medals in cycling at the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) on debut.
Sabina won double gold in the girls Keirin and Team Sprint events respectively, as well as a bronze in the 200m Sprint. “This was my first Khelo India Youth Games and I’m very happy with my performance and the three medals. Among them, the individual Keirin was my best,” said the visibly elated National Centre of Excellence trainee.
Sabina’s story is one of quiet determination, focus and hard work. “I have always been focused and have worked hard. There are many girls in rural places who want to do something in life but don’t find the opportunity. I want to tell them – working hard. Chase what you want, whether it’s in sports or anything else,’ said Sabina, a Khelo India Athlete (KIA).
Sabina’s accidental entry into sports
Sabina’s entry into sports was accidental. “I didn’t even know about sports then. My father filled out a form in 2017 under the Central Coalfields Ltd programme of the Jharkhand Government. He just wanted me to do well in life in terms of survival and education. That small act changed my life,” Sabina said.
She was just 12 years old when she took to Cycling at the Jharkhand State Sports Promotion Society (JSPS) Academy in Ranchi. Sabina soon came under the wings of cycling coach Ram Kapoor Bhatt. Impressed by her instincts and agility, Ram Kapoor Bhatt, a multiple medalist in cycling at the 2011 National Games, encouraged Sabina to try out sprint.
“I was 13 in 2018 when I started training under Ram sir and I never looked back,” Sabina said. By 2021, her steady improvement led to a breakthrough — a gold and bronze at her first national championship in Jaipur. “That was when I started believing that I could go far.”
With her mother managing home and her father working daily-wage jobs to make ends meet, the thought of pursuing a sporting career seemed improbable. But with continuous support from Khelo India Scheme, Sabina has found an avenue to express herself. “The Khelo India Scheme is the reason I am what I am today,” she said.
Olympics, Sabina’s ultimate aim
In 2024, she won her first international medal as part of the Indian team that claimed sprint gold at the Asian Championships in Delhi. Sabina is also part of the SAI National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) Indira Gandhi Stadium, training under French cycling legend Kevin Sireau and further honing her technical edge. “He is a very good guide. My aim now is to represent India at the Olympics.”
Now completing her 12th-standard studies via self-learning, Sabina balances academics with intense training. She remains grateful of her roots and coach Ram Bhatt. “There’s been so much development in cycling in Jharkhand. Around 25–30 kids are training under Ram Sir now. He wants all of us to go forward. I am so grateful to have found him at the right time,” she said.