Kashmir has procured numerous sportspersons who have made a mark on national and international platforms. To name one such inspirational athlete, we have Adil Teli, the cyclist from Kashmir, who brought laurels to the landscape when he broke the Guinness World Record, not just once but twice.
Adil Teli is a name of determination, perseverance, and steadfastness. Let’s see what more we know about this inspirational figure.
Who is Adil Teli?
The young athlete was born and brought up in the Narbal area of Budgam district, Jammu and Kashmir. He is a graduate of Gandhi Memorial College, Srinagar. Since childhood, he has found his passion for cycling.
2012 – Adil Teli didn’t had the financial means to pursue riding professionally but with the family’s support, the grade eight student bought his first bicycle worth Rs 3000. But only after two years, did Teli move his bicycle from the streets of his village to the first inter-school competition in 2012.
2013 – Cycling became a serious business for the kid in 2013. In the Mountain Bike National (MTB) Championships, Adil Teli finished in seventh place in Kerala. Thereon, cycling was a clear professional priority for Adil.
2015-2020 – He has represented Jammu and Kashmir at the national and senior national levels. He has also represented the University of Kashmir for three years. In 2019, Adil Teli participated in non-stop cycling between Srinagar to Leh and covered a distance of 40 km in 26 hours.
In this event, he realized his capacities and was stimulated to achieve a great feat. He laid his eyes on the Guinness World Record and started practicing for the same.
2021- Kashmir to Kanyakumari- Guinness World Record by Adil Teli
In March 2021, Adil finally was successful in fulfilling his dream. He paddled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari covering a distance of 3600Kms and created a Guinness World Record holder for the fastest Kashmir to Kanyakumari journey on cycle.
Adil started his journey from Ganta Ghar, Lalchowk at 7:30 am on March 22, 2021, and completed the distance in eight days, 1 hour and 39 minutes by reaching the destination on March 30 at 7:30 am.
From the moderate weather of Kashmir to the hot plains of India recording around 41 degrees celsius temperature, the journey was a tough battle. While speaking to the local talk show, Taarukk, Teli described his struggles during the journey.
He almost gave up to the bruises and blisters on the night before the 8th day. But he knew where to find the motivation, he called his mother at 2:30 am and complained about the pain. His mother consoled him and said,
” Don’t let so much of your efforts go in vain. Whole nation is watching you , praising you and you are making us so so proud. You don’t have to leave it but beat it.”
“Although at that point I was already leading the previous record by 2/3 hours but the gnawing pain in my swollen left knee was brushing off my confidence,” told Adil to the host, Munawar Khan.
But his mother insisted, “You are doing it. You have beat the Guinness World Record.”
These words were enough to burn the fuel and put Adil’s feet back on the pedals. Creating the Guinness World Record was all he could think of. He was live on Facebook and 20-30K people were watching him when he finished the rough journey and said,
“Alhumdulillah, I broke the Guinness World Record with a good margin”, said Teli to the host, Munawar Khan.
Immediately after finishing the ride, Adil Teli fell unconscious and was taken to the hospital. After 4 hours, he was awake. The appreciation and love he received after that was overwhelming. Reaching back to Kashmir, the crowd had gathered to greet me. The area which otherwise would he cover in 5-7mins, took him 2/2:30 hours to cross and reach home.
He also mentioned that the role of his crew members was most essential in making this happen, “nutritionist, physiotherapist, cameraman…everyone was with me.”
The government of J&K supported the young athlete and the new tunnel from Qazigund to Banihal was specially opened for him. In the same talk show when asked about the future plans, he said that he hungers to make another Guinness World Record.
Though Adil Teli returned with a peeled skin, sunburn, and swollen knees he still stayed motivated for another challenge. Soon after he recovered, he started preparing for the Manali to Leh highway ride.
2022- Leh to Manali – Another Guinness World Record by Adil Teli
Adil Teli achieved the record for the fastest cycle journey of the Manali-Leh highway. He completed the feat in 29 hours 18 minutes and 21 seconds from 11 September 2022 to 12 September 2022.
Adil Teli surpassed the previous record of Bharat Pannu of pedaling the distance in 35 hours 32 minutes 22 seconds set on 11 October 2020.
The 24-year-old cyclist started his expedition from Srinagar on September 9 with Secretary Tourism Sarmad Hafeez flagging him off. At Leh, where the measurable part of the expedition started he was flagged off by Superintendent of Police Leh, PD Nitya.
The challenging part of this journey was the mountain passes like Tanglang La, Luchulang La, Nakee La, Barcha La, and Rohtang. The highest pass was approximately 5,300 meters above sea level and the rest four passes were above 4000 meters. Adil Teli didn’t sleep and kept cycling. There were spots that were covered with snow but Adil overcame every journey.
This time Adil had prepared himself for the climatic conditions. He had previously spent 45 days in Ladakh to get accustomed to the climactic conditions of the place.
One person who has greatly helped Teli in his journey is Akshay Koul. Akshay Koul is India’s well-known landscape architect and Professor at Manipal University, Jaipur. Adil Teli dedicated this success to his parents who have been a source of motivation and support in his life.
Adil’s next goal is to compete in International races like the American race from the West to the East Coast. The Race Across America, or RAAM, is a cross-country ultra-distance road cycling race that began in 1982 as the Great American Cycle Race.
Adil Teli’s journey motivates young people from Kashmir to achieve their dreams no matter the situation.
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Tabinda Mir is a writer from Kashmir. She is an English Honours graduate and her interests primarily dwell in poetry and sports writing. She likes to cover Cricket as an avid fan. Apart from sports, her other publications include articles, poems and a letter to summer in the book titled, “Under The Summer Skies”.
Also, her leisure time activities include reading novels, poetry, non literary works, philosophies and writing poetry, short stories, articles on diverse themes.
