From cycling champion to a cycle repairer; Abrar Hussain's disheartening story

Faislabad: From cycling champion to a cycle repairer 53 years old, Abrar Hussain repairs cycles on a footpath to make ends meet

Being an undefeated District level Cycling Champion from 1994 to 2000 And Punjab’s Cycling Champion, Abrar, a resident of Jhang is among one of the many examples of government’s sheer negligence

“From 1994-2000 I won all championships for Punjab on a district level. I did not have the resources. When I developed a liking for cycling I bought a cycle from a scraper, collected money from my loved ones to repair it repaired it and then trained myself for it”

Due to a lack of resources and zero support, Abrar was unable to participate in Tour de Pakistan: “People said to me instead of participating in Tour de Pakistan, either go sit at a shrine or kill yourself because you cannot run your home with this. I want the government to give me a job. I can train young people to become successful cyclists”

Apparently, the government allocates a budget of billions to sports but many such heroes of ours go unnoticed being forced to live their lives on the streets trying to earn a respectable living

Abrar Hussain who could cover distances of hours in minutes is now left way behind in the race of life. Abrar, even today, is ready to offer his expertise to train young cyclists of our country

“A nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure.”