Girls power: (From left) Nyo Ci Hui, Yong Ann Tung and Azwa Nabila Abdullah showing off their medals won at the Asian Track Cycling Championships in New Delhi.
PETALING JAYA: Nyo Ci Hui’s joy turned to sorrow when she was penalised during the omnium at the Asian Track Cycling Championships in New Delhi.
Ci Hui, who won the women’s junior scratch on Tuesday, was relegated to second spot for riding on the blue band in the points race at the Indira Gandhi Velodrome yesterday.
The blue band is a continuous line on the inside edge of a velodrome track. Riders may ride in this zone but cannot pass other cyclists. Advancing position in the blue band is illegal and results in a penalty.
The costly error saw her finishing with 110 points after a 10-point deduction.
Japan’s Maho Kakita secured the gold with 118 points while Uzbekistan’s Asal Rizaeva took the bronze with 106 points.
The omnium is an Olympic event for track cycling but is introduced for the first time in the junior ranks.
It consists of four races – the scratch, elimination, tempo and points – all taking place in one day.
The 18-year-old from Perak will still be delighted with her superb achievements.
“It’s my first competition and I’ve won two medals. I’ll be back to do even better,” said Ci Hui, who is still Malaysia’s first winner in the junior ranks of the Asian meet after 10 years.
A job well done: Mohd Hafiq Mohd Jafri (left) posing with the silver medal in the men’s junior omnium at the Asian Track Cycling Championships in New Delhi. On his left is gold medallist Ilya Karabutov of Kazakhstan and bronze medal winner Uzbekistan’s Vladislav Troman.
There was double joy in the omnium with Mohd Hafiq Mohd Jafri also bagging a silver in the men’s category.
Hafiq, who is from Melaka, collected 133 points to finish behind Kazakhstan rider Ilya Karabutov, who scored 148 points. The bronze medal went to Vladislav Troman from Uzbekistan with 126 points.
In the keirin, Malaysia picked up two bronze medals from the women’s elite and junior riders.
Elite rider Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri claimed her second individual medal of the championship when she came in third behind Japan’s gold medallist Sato Mina and South Korea’s Park Ji-hae.
Nurul can take heart that she performed better than the more experienced Anis Amira Rosidi, who was eliminated after finishing fourth in the first-round heat.
Azwa Nabila Abdullah also contributed bronze when she finished ahead of compatriot Yong Ann Tung in the junior keirin final. Kim Do-ye led Na Yun-seo to a South Korean 1-2 finish.
Ann Tung had taken bronze in the junior sprint event on Tuesday.
