Aishwarya Pissay: the 1st Indian to Win a Motorsport World Title

Aishwarya Pissay, a national level two-wheeler racing champion, held on to her dream despite a deadly crash.

21-year-old Aishwarya Pissay is the first ever national two-wheeler racing champion in the girls category. 

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Aishwarya Pissay)

(This story is being republished after Aishwarya Pissay won the women’s FIM world cup. It was originally published on 29 November 2017.)

“I survived the crash but it shattered my collarbone into three pieces. It crushed my dreams of winning 3 championships and conquering the Himalayan range. The doctors put in a plate and 7 screws,” recalls Aishwarya Pissay. At the time, the 21-year-old had no idea that her passion for bikes would take her this far.

Pissay’s tryst with bikes began when she decided to participate in a TV show – that saw her traverse a tough terrain of 8,000 odd kilometres from Rann of Kutch to Cherrapunji spanning 24 days.

Aishwarya is a road racer in Apex Racing Academy and a rallyist representing TVS Motor Corporation.(Photo Courtesy: Apex Racing Academy)

Her most remarkable stint, she says, was at the Raid de Himalaya (RdH) where she took over the tracks on an Apache RTR 200 – to finish fourth in the Moto Xtreme category and was the only woman to complete the race.

But Pissay had to fight to achieve her dream. “Since I hail from a conservative family, the biggest obstacle for me was to break through a male-dominated sport. The men I was racing with said I should just stay home, lest I fall and break a bone. I didn’t say anything, but I made sure I responded to them with my performance,” she told The Quint.

Currently a road racer in Apex Racing Academy and a rallyist representing TVS Motor Corporation, Aishwarya is the first-ever national two-wheeler racing champion in the girls category.

The champion has a simple funda for success:

There is a career path in anything that you aspire and have a passion towards.

Aishwarya Pissay, Women’s FIM world champion.