Indian woman becomes the fastest Asian to cycle the globe
Mumbai, Dec 23 : In an incredible feat for any Indian, 20-year-old Pune woman Vedangi Kulkarni has become the fastest Asian to cycle the globe.
Vedangi, who hails from a suburb of Pune, cycled into Kolkata in the wee hours of Sunday, completing the 29,000 km distance required to qualify as bicycling across the globe.
She started off from Perth in July and will now be flying back to the Australian city to complete the record.
Talking to PTI over the phone, Vedangi said the 159 days spent peddling up to 300 km a day in 14 countries has shown her the "best and worst" of both herself and also the world.
Her father Vivek Kulkarni said very few people undertake this gruelling campaign and his daughter has become the fastest Asian to cycle the globe.
British adventurer Jenny Graham (38) is the fastest woman to have cycled the globe in 124 days in 2018, which was three weeks faster than the previous record.
Elements, both human and natural, tested the Indian cyclist. This included being chased by a Grizzly bear in Canada or camping alone for multiple nights in the snow in Russia or being robbed at a knife-point in Spain.
There were troubles on securing the necessary visas as well, which cost her time. The visa process led to a delayed departure and consequently facing weather hostilities in Europe where winter had started setting in.
Vedangi, a student of the University of Bournemouth in the UK pursuing a degree in sports management, said preparations for the ride began about two years ago with long cycle rises, getting the equipment including a specially crafted cycle and planning the route and time window.
She did not have anyone accompanying her for over 80 per cent of the route, and lugged the cycle with the heavy luggage that includes cycle tools, camping equipment and clothing in desolate stretches all alone.
The ride was funded majorly by her parents.
Starting off from Perth, she cycled across Australia, through the outback, to reach Brisbane from where she flew over to Wellington, New Zealand, for doing the entire country north to south.
A short flight took her across the international dateline to Western Canada's Vancouver, from where she continued her eastward journey till Halifax, a port city.
Europe beckoned next and she chose the chilly Iceland to start it all up and later cycled through Portugal, Spain France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Finland to enter Russia.
From Russia, she flew to India for doing the last 4,000 km. She encountered temperatures ranging from -20 degree Celsius to 37 degrees Celsius during the ride.
Vedangi credited her parents as pillars of strength who ensured she pulls off this ride and enters record books.
"My parents have done a great job in giving a 19-year- old (she turned 20 on the ride) all the required mental support and encouragement to explore the world, standing strong when the going got tough, always being on the other end of the phone and at not letting the curiosity die out due to ill experiences even though the parental instincts told them otherwise," she said.
Her father Vivek Kulkarni said, "It's her dedication and will power to achieve her dream which ensured the success and I am sure there are many more to come."
Vedangi, who entered the City of Joy in the wee hours, will be taking the earliest flight out to reach Perth and cycle a 15km distance to reach the same place from where she started her journey.
"I feel privileged being so close to the finish line with my parents by the side. We all can do better with a little more support from our own people. We all need someone who wont let that curiosity die!" said a beaming Vedangi.
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India harbouring big and bold dreams in space sector: Shubhanshu Shukla
Kolkata (PTI): Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to go to the International Space Station, on Wednesday said the country is harbouring “big and bold dreams”, foraying into human spaceflight after a hiatus of 41 years.
Shukla was the first Indian to visit the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission. He returned to India from the US on August 17, 2025, after the 18-day mission.
The space is a “great place to be”, marked by deep peace and an “amazing view” that becomes more captivating with time, he said, interacting with schoolchildren at an event organised by the Indian Centre for Space Physics here.
“The longer you stay, the more you enjoy it,” Shukla said, adding on a lighter note that he “actually kind of did not want to come back”.
Shukla said the hands-on experience in space was very different from what he had learnt during training.
He said the future of India’s space science was “very bright”, with the country harbouring “very big and bold dreams”.
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Shukla described his ISS flight, undertaken with support from the US, as a crucial “stepping stone” towards realising India’s ‘Vision Gaganyaan’.
“The experience gained is a national asset. It is already being used by internal committees and design teams to ensure ongoing missions are on the right track,” he said.
Shukla said the country’s space ambitions include the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, the Bharatiya Station (India’s own space station), and eventually a human landing on the Moon.
While the Moon mission is targeted for 2040, he said these projects are already in the pipeline, and the field will evolve at a “very rapid pace” over the next 10-20 years.
He told the students that though these targets are challenging, they are “achievable by people like you”, urging them to take ownership of India’s aspirations.
The sector will generate “a lot of employment opportunities” as India expands its human spaceflight capabilities, he noted.
Echoing the iconic words of India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Shukla said that from orbit, “India is still the best in the world”.
Shukla also asserted that the achievement was not his alone, but that of the entire country.
“The youth of India are extremely talented. They must stay focused, remain curious and work hard. It is their responsibility to help build a developed India by 2047,” he said.
Highlighting a shift from Sharma’s era, Shukla said India is now developing a full-fledged astronaut ecosystem.
With Gaganyaan and future missions, children in India will be able to not only dream of becoming astronauts, but also achieving it within the country, he said.
“Space missions help a village kid believe he can go to space someday. When you send one person to space, you lift million hopes. That is why such programmes must continue... The sky is not the limit,” Shukla said.
“Scientists must prepare for systems that will last 20-30 years, while ensuring they can integrate technologies that will emerge a decade from now,” he said.
Shukla added that he looked forward to more space missions, and was keen to undertake a space walk, which will require him to "train for another two years".
