17-year old World No.1 cyclist Esow Alben claims the silver medal at the 2018 UCI World Cycling Championships

What's the story?

Talented Indian cyclist Esow Alben, who is taking the world by storm with his achievements at a young age, has added yet another feather to his cap. He now has a silver-medal finish at the UCI World Junior Cycling Championship 2018 that was held in Aigle, Switzerland.

In case you didn't know

Hailing from Andaman and Nicobar, the teenager's terrific run in the Asian Championships and victories in the 2018 Cottbuser Sprint Cup 2, GP Brno Track Cycling competitions saw him climb up to the top of the rankings and earn him the No.1 ranking in the Junior Sprint category, making him the first Indian to reach the top spot.

Heart of the Matter

All of 17 years old, the cyclist already has a plethora of achievements to his name. Most notably, his hat-trick of gold medals at the 2018 Asian Track Cycling Championships in Malaysia where he won gold medals in the individual and team event, before capping off a memorable run in the competition with a top-place finish in the Men's junior sprint event.

Esow's commendable performance in February saw him labelled as one of the 'Ones to watch out for', a tag which he has certainly lived up to, speeding his way to a silver medal in the Keirin event at the World Junior Cycling Championships.

Esow finished second in the Men's Keirin event ahead of Kazakstan's Chugay Andrey and was in action in the Men's Team Sprint event alongside Mayur Pawar and James Keithellakpam Singh. But unfortunately for the team, they could not qualify for the finals, after clocking a time of 15.957 in 200m and 26.914 in the 400m events.

What's Next?

One of the brightest prospects for Indian cycling, Esow's prowess at a very young age has also placed him at a very high level. From here on, the 17-year old will hope to get better and strengthen his claim for a medal in the upcoming 2018 Asian Games, as well as the Youth Olympics in Argentina later this October.