You see a ray of hope when you hear the inspiring stories that make you firmly believe in “Dreams Know No Gender”.
And, one such inspiring story is that of Aishwarya Pissay.
Aishwarya is the first Indian to win the FIM World Cup.
She believes that ‘once the helmet goes on, there is no gender’. That explains why she managed to achieve what she did.
Brought up in a humble & conservative family, the boundaries and restrictions were her constant companions. And, under these circumstances, becoming a biker was not easy for Aishwarya.
But like a true fighter, she did not give up! She trusted her determination and persistence to achieve her dreams.
Her determination to prove herself became the reason behind her success. She stood first in Dubai (first leg), third in Portugal, fifth in Spain and fourth in Hungary (last leg) to finish with 65 points.
Aishwarya Pissay of TVS clinches the Fim Baja World Cup 2019 Women’s Category. She finished 4th in the Hungary Round which concluded today. #Fmsci congratulates India’s first #FIM World Cup champion. pic.twitter.com/ftPndXOApv
— FMSCI (@fmsci) August 12, 2019
How Aishwarya Visualized Her Dream
When Aishwarya performed poorly in class 12 exams, she took a year off to figure out what she wanted to do. And, during this time, she fell in love with biking.
Though the spark was lit during her outings with her father as a child, it was only during a moment while dropping her friend at home that she realized she can cut through traffic brilliantly.
After that realization, she participated in contests like Chase the Monsoon and Bun Burner, which needed her to drive long distances.
Though she was on the path of becoming the only Indian woman to win 5 national road racing and rally championship titles, her parents were a bit hesitant.
In an interview with ToI, Aishwarya recalled how it all started:
“I started going on weekend rides with my friends and that is where my love for biking began. Then in 2015, I began training at the Apex Racing Academy in Coimbatore and realised I had the skill set to get into professional racing and biking.”
How Tough Times Made Her Stronger
During a race in 2017, she got severely injured, breaking her collarbone in multiple places. Later in 2018, she damaged her pancreas and underwent a 2-month-long recovery process.
She didn’t let her challenges overpower her dream.
So a year later, she overcame all these speed-breakers to register this historic victory at the young age of 23. A dream she had worked to achieve for years.
“Everybody said to take a 9-5 job and pursue this as a hobby. But I chose to stick to this and wait for what I wanted. There is a career anywhere you want.”
The way Aishwarya refused to give up even after she met with a terrible crash is an inspiration for many of us. She added,
“When I suffered career-threatening injuries, it was a tough phase of my life. But I believed in myself and was determined to get back on the bike, which I did in nearly six months.
So, winning the World Cup is huge for me.
It’s an absolute honour to be the first athlete to bring home a world championship title and put India on the map of international motorsports.”
Now, this is called determination!
At I FOR HER, we celebrate Aishwarya’s courage & achievement and hope we seek inspiration from her to believe in our dreams when no one else does.
As she set her sights on the upcoming Dakar Rally which is known as the most grueling cross-country race in the world, we wish her luck.
We hope more women will seek inspiration from her to take up biking. Because in the end – there is “No gender under the helmet“.
