India / Prez gifts racing cycle to Delhi student who washes dishes to support family

New Delhi: Riyaz, a budding cyclist and student of class 9 in the national capital, got his 'Eidi' on Friday when President Ram Nath Kovind gifted him a racing bicycle to help him achieve his dream of becoming a world-class cyclist.

Riyaz's passion is cycling, and he practises hard after studies and work. In 2017, he won a bronze medal in the Delhi State Cycling Championship. He went on to participate in a school games event in Guwahati, according to the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad, and achieved fourth rank at the national level.

Unfortunately, Riyaz had to depend on a borrowed sports cycle for his practice, and all that the budding champion wanted was a cycle of his own. His wish was finally granted on the occasion of Eid.

The president came to know of Riyaz's story of struggle through reports in the media.

Taking to Twitter, Kovind wrote: "Motivating youth for nation-building! President Kovind gifted a racing bicycle to a school boy Riyaz who dreams of excelling as a top cyclist. The President wished him to become an international cycling champion and realise his dream through hard work."

"In a gesture of motivating youth for nation-building, President of India, Ram Nath Kovind chose a struggling school boy Riyaz, who dreams of excelling as cyclist, to gift him a racing bicycle," said a statement released by the president's office.

The president also wished him to become an international champion and realise his dream through his hard work.

A student of Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya at Anand Vihar in Delhi, Riyaz originally belongs to Madhubani district in Bihar.

His family, comprising parents, two sisters and a brother, lives in Madhubani, while Riyaz stays in a rented accommodation in Maharajpur, Ghaziabad, according to a statement issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan. To supplement his father's paltry income as a cook, the boy in his free time works in an eatery in Ghaziabad as a dishwasher, it said.

The boy has been taking professional training from coach Pramod Sharma, who regularly trains him at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi.

The bicycle delivered to Riyaz on Friday, a day before Eid-al-Adha, comes as Eidi in true spirit of the festival that is marked by gifts given by elders to youngsters, it said.

Complimenting Riyaz for his achievements defying all odds, President Kovind wished him very best in the life and said that his story should serve as worthy of emulation for the country's youth who must come forward for nation-building by dint of their dedication, hard work, courage and honesty.