Vadodara girl to take on 34 boys in Malaysia Go karting competition

VADODARA: A 13-year-old Gujarati girl will take on 34 boys from five countries in Malaysia on Saturday. Mira Erda is all set to burn the tracks in Rotax Max Asian Karting Championships along with 35 other participants. Mira is the only girl from India to participate in the event that sees participation from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and India.
Barring Mira and an Indonesian girl, all the other participants in the junior category race are males. But Mira, who studies in eighth standard, is not nervous. "I have participated in several karting championships that were male dominated. I take it as a challenge and will give my best in the contest. It increases my confidence," Mira said. She took up the sport at the age of nine and has not looked back since then.
Despite participating in a male dominated sport, she is at complete ease once she is behind the wheels. Mira has participated in several national and international karting championships and won a number of trophies and medals. But that has not satisfied her hunger for victories.
"Mira is a focused racer and she trains hard ahead of such championships. We want her to excel in the sport as she has great potential and I am sure she will participate in higher grade contests in future," Mira's father, Kirit Erda told TOI over phone from Malaysia. On Saturday, Mira will burn the rubber on 1.2 kilometre track where the top speed reaches 110 kilometre per hour.