From a video game to the real trail: How this downhill rider aced the sport

On 26 October, the day of the Red Bull Tlang Ruam, India’s first urban downhill biking race, Yawar Ali Khan woke up in the wee hours unable to catch much sleep. Almost instantly, he eyed his swollen right ankle and the events of the previous day came rushing back to him. During his practice run, a freak incident resulted in Ali Khan crashing down a flight of stairs on the course in Aizawl. An injection that evening had temporarily alleviated the pain, but now at the early hour, he felt that his race was in jeopardy.

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“I was pretty stressed and feeling kind of shattered to have crashed just a day before the race. It took a while for me to prepare and convince myself that it was all under control for the big day. At the start line, I knew it was time to go,” Ali Khan, 26, says. By the end of the race, the downhill rider from Jammu picked up third spot for India, the only one to finish on the podium from the host country behind Taiwan’s Chiang ‘Dan’ Sheng Shan and Rama Teguh Ady Pratama of Indonesia. The talent was never in doubt, ever since he had picked up the sport just two years ago; now, there was validation as well.

Ali Khan’s first brush with the world of downhill biking was at a video game parlour in the fourth grade. Alongside a cousin, he would sneak in on the sly to have a go at multiple rounds of ‘Downhill Domination’ on the PlayStation. But it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that he bought his first bike. A few months later, a friend signed him up for a race at the state championship without informing him. Ali Khan decided to ride and finished second.

“It’s an expensive sport and I didn’t quite know how I could afford a proper downhill bike. But when my friends started pushing me to take it up more seriously, I borrowed money and bought one in September 2022,” he recalls. The very next day, he shattered his collarbone after taking a fall. His folks back home thought it would end his momentary fascination for the sport, but it only made Ali Khan more determined to work on his skills. With a lack of trails around Jammu, he had no choice but to hit the neighbourhoods around town, taking on stairs and tarmac alike. 

“I don’t think I’ve left any staircase untouched. My friends would man certain spots and look out for people passing by. Most folks I encountered were quite encouraging. All those hours helped me understand body positioning and handling, and it allowed me to go really fast on stairs,” he says. “That said, the trails are a lot kinder because the mud protects you in case of a fall. Urban downhill is very unforgiving, so if you crash on stairs or on concrete, it’s going to hurt,” he adds.

At the National Downhill Championships earlier this year, Ali Khan took third spot while riding the trails. When Red Bull Tlang Ruam came calling, he knew it was his moment and in an environment he was most comfortable in. The race featured 21 riders from five Asian countries and a 960-metre track running down the slopes of Aizawl, with stair sets and winding roads, similar to what Ali Khan had tackled in the past. Yet, when he walked along the course, he realised it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk.

“While stairs come naturally to me, there were other features I was completely unfamiliar with. I was most concerned about a six feet high jump across a road that led to a long flight of stairs. I had never done anything like it in my life. And there was no time to practice that particular section. It was a lot of pressure with so many good riders around and I tried my best to distract myself before attempting it,” he says. Just that his second practice run had left him injured and even slipping on shoes was a task. In the hotel room that morning, he saw a picture of the magnificent trophy at stake on his phone, and in that moment, he knew he had to go.

“The very first time I saw that trophy, I had decided I was going to lift it. And I would have it no matter what. I realised that I would rather not race if I was to keep worrying about the injury. So this was it, full gas or nothing,” he says. By the end of the qualifying run, Ali Khan had found his groove and went fourth fastest. During the final, he decided to go for broke and take on the jump that had worried him until then.

“I essentially decided to go all out instead of slowing down and that worked out pretty well. Looking back, that was the key to finishing in good time because on the sprint sections, I was struggling with pain in the hips and hamstrings as a result of the crash,” he says. As he stormed into the Hawla Indoor Stadium, Ali Khan went fastest and had done just about enough to hold on to third spot.

“This was the first time an urban downhill race was happening in India and my only goal was to ensure that my country was on the podium. But this experience has made me realise that I need to put in the work and return as a stronger rider next year,” he says.

Shail Desai is a Mumbai-based freelance writer.

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