Ponmudi's idyllic hills, on the fringes of Thiruvananthapuram city in Kerala, served as the backdrop to India’s first-ever mountain bike competition, the Asian Mountain Bike Championship 2023. This event, hosted in the month of October, was a gateway to the 2024 Olympics in Paris and saw the active participation of close to 20 national teams from worldwide locations. The steep and hilly terrain of Ponmudi presented a tough challenge for the riders, and offered them an opportunity to showcase their endurance.