Pankaj Singh, the BJP MLA from Noida constituency for the UP Assembly, has been elected unopposed as President of Cycling Federation of India (CFI) in the Annual General Body & Election Meeting this weekend. Maninder Pal Singh has been elected for the post of Secretary General for the second consecutive term while the post of treasurer was bagged by Sudeesh Kumar of Kerala, in the elections held on Sunday at State Guest House, Nainital (Uttarakhand).
The election was held for the term 2023-2027 and 26 states and boards affiliated to CFI participated in the AGM. Justice RK Gauba (Retd.), the returning officer for the elections, declared the results on Monday, April 24. Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Kerala, Telangana got two members elected in the Executive Council while One member each elected from Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamilnadu, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh and Andaman & Nicobar.
Later, Pankaj Singh thanked all the members for electing him unopposed. He also said that he "will ensure that not only cyclists but the sportpersons of India get the best facilities and will focus on grassroot program." He further said, "I have more work to be done on my part. Cycling is the most popular sport but we have to develop it to the elite level. We have to shift focus on the players at grass root level from where we can get the best talent, we have to nurture them carefully and can win the medals at Inter-national level."
S. Onkar Singh, Secretary General of Asian Cycling Confederation attended the meeting as ACC observer while DK Singh was present as an IOA Observer.