House Sold, Savings Exhausted, Father's Love For Teen Rider Aleena Shaikh Mansur Knows No Bounds

As the sporting fraternity in India witnesses the second season of the Women's Premier League, a revetting story involving a father-daughter duo unfolded in the Indian Supercross Racing League. In its inaugural season, the ISRL has unearthed a gem in the form of Aleena Shaikh Mansur who is making waves in the world of motorsports at the tender age of 13 as a rider for the SG Speed Racers. Seeking inspiration from her father, who has been her role model, coach, and advisor since the age of 8, Aleena has over 60 trophies at home, having emerged as one of the most promising young female racers in the country.

The expenses that motorsports demands know no bounds but so does the belief Aleena's father has in her. Having catered to the needs of her talent from an early stage, Aleena's father is hopeful to attract one or two sponsors for her daughter, as he hopes to continue laying the bricks of the castle the young rider wishes to build in motorsports.

In a chat with NDTV on the sidelines of the Indian Supercross Racing League in Bengaluru, Aleena's father shed light on his daughter's journey as a rider which started when she was just 8.

"Aleena was about 8 years old when she started riding. Initially, she was very much attracted to my superbike which is the Kawasaki Z800. She and my second daughter Zina both wanted to ride. So I got them to 50cc bikes. Those are Chinese bikes like I use and throw bikes. So in that she started learning how to ride. She was happy to ride and she learned the balance and she was very fast. And she wanted to race. Initially, I told her let's practice some more. 

"Then we purchased her a Kawasaki KLX 110, on which she practiced for 3 months. Then I sent her photos and videos to MRF hoping to participate in the national championship for the junior category. But, I was informed Kawasaki is not compatible. Then we got a KTMSX50 which has a better suspension and is a two-stroke bike for kids," he said.

"Then we moved to KTMSX50 and we practiced more because we were practicing in the flat tracks initially. Slowly, we started going to the invitational races and also the MRF national championship supercross, and even the MRF national dirt track championship as well. Now, she has more than 60 trophies in the last 4 years," Aleena's father said as he highlighted the talent his daughter has.

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Balancing School Life And Motorsports

For a child of the age of 13, practicing motorsports along with keeping a healthy school life is difficult. Injuries in the sport make Aleena miss school for weeks, sometimes months too. But, the father-daughter duo is happy that the school is considerate of their situation.

"Alena, at present, is carrying multiple injuries. Because of the injuries, we wasted 18 months to 24 months. To manage her injuries, we give her rest for at least six months. we had to give her a gap and rest then physiotherapy then slowly we started coming back to the races. But, we are not pushing her much so that she doesn't get injured because after 10 days we have MRF national Supercross Championship round one so we're just trying to keep it safe this season.

"As far as her studies are concerned, she goes to school at 8 AM and comes back around four. She does all that a normal school-going child does. However, she does have difficulties whenever we take leaves to go to the race or during multiple-day practices for big events. To cover up, we are giving her extra classes. The school is not objecting because it's a matter of pride for them as she's representing them," he asserted.

In a nation that loves cricket to the core, making a career in motorsports is tough, especially because of the influx of money it demands. While Aleena's father can't afford a coach to help his child hone her skills, she is learning the technical aspects of the sport himself, through YouTube and other online platforms, to ensure the child doesn't go off-track.

From A Father To A Coach

"It's a long journey for us because in India cricket is one thing where everyone runs behind, even I have been a cricketer in the past. 

"This particular sport it's very risky and you need one person all the time with her to travel at the same time to be with her during the practice sessions because we don't have a dedicated coach as we can't afford to have a dedicated coach. What I do is I learned from Instagram as there are multiple academies like we have Glen Helen, we have Fox Raceway, we have MTFX, we have Moto Academy, and based on those videos I try to grasp the particular ideas of the techniques about how she has to ride, where she needs to improve then I guide her verbally and she also looks at those videos. That is one challenge we are facing," he said.

"I work as a project program management advisor in an IT firm. In this sport, since it's a very expensive sport, I have taken out almost my 20 years of Provident Fund just to buy her bikes and very expensive safety gear because she is a girl child and we don't have sponsors to get her trained properly.

No Cheat Meals For Aleena

Fitness is also at the top of her father's list, with Aleena mostly relying on an easily digestible diet during events and protein-rich food while back home. 

"I have told her there is nothing like boys or girls or male or female. The man and the machine. So it's a machine either a woman or a girl or a boy or a man comes and gives a throttle the bike will go. So it's about the machine and how you handle that machine it's up to you. 

"When you're 30 plus if you're very fit then definitely you can go up to 35 or 40. But if you're not fit it's not so fitness and diet and focus on the game when you're there. What we do is we give a lot of soft diet, especially during practice and races. 

"We don't give any hard food much because when you take jumps you feel like vomiting sometimes if you have a lot of hard food inside if it's not digested. So she practices and also races only on a soft diet and at home, she takes non-vegetarian food. We try to give her a good amount of protein, milk, and all such stuff but no oily food. No cheat meals for her," he highlighted.

The Financial Hardships

Staring at a severe financial crunch, Aleena's father is keeping his fingers crossed as he hopes to fetch a sponsor for the young rider and help her with the push her talent deserves in a ruthless sport like motocross.

"What we are looking for is a company that can sponsor because I alone as the father of Aleena, finding very difficult within my salary to support her, to get a bike or proper training in terms of racing or in terms of fitness to send her to the gym because we also have a family to take care. I alone have to take care of my mother's medication, I'm diabetic and I need to take care of my medication and I have three daughters as well.

"I am finding it very very difficult and I also sold my six hundred square feet house as well because my debts were increasing the personal loans were increasing.

"We do not have sponsors. Yes, it is very difficult for us to continue further but we are doing our best. Any company or any person who is interested in motorsports can help this girl child get trained properly and also perform in national as well as international races and represent India," he concluded.