Cycling trio led by Ridwan deliver gold to shape up nicely for SEA Games

Unstoppable: (from left) Akmal Nazimi Jusena, Mohd Ridwan Sahrom and Mohd Fadhil Zonis reached the final as the fastest team with 1:02.454s.

PETALING JAYA: The scratch combination of Mohd Ridwan Sahrom, Mohd Fadhil Zonis and Akmal Nazimi Jusena showed they are up to the task to deliver gold for Malaysia at the Thailand SEA Games in December after a convincing performance at the Track Asia Cup in Suphanburi, Thailand.

The Malaysian trio bagged the gold in the men’s elite team sprint event yesterday, clocking a decent 1:02.090s in the final to beat Kazakhstan (1:05.048s).

Malaysia reached the final as the fastest team with 1:02.454s followed by Kazahkstan (1:02.660s).

National coach Harnizam Basri was pleased with the result after the setback in the keirin on Thursday where none of the national riders finished on the podium.

Only Ridwan managed to reach the main final but he was relegated to sixth place for a technical infringement.

“I expected Ridwan to finish on the podium but he was unlucky. These things happen in racing,” said Harnizam.

“Now we have achieved our target to win the team sprint here and it’s a good boost for the Thailand SEA Games later in December as we know where we stand against the others.

“Hopefully, our riders can bounce back in the sprint event tomorrow,” he said.

Fadhil failed to make the podium in the men’s elite 1km time trial after finishing fourth (1:06.214s).

Kirill Kurdidi of Kazakhstan won the gold with 1:05.045s ahead of Taiwan’s Kang Shih-feng (1:05.479s) and Ronaldo Laitonjam of India (1:06.073s).

Paris Olympian cyclist Nur Aisyah Mohd Zubir rode to a bronze in the women’s scratch race final, which was won by Rizaeva Asal of Uzbekistan.

Former world champion cyclist Azizulhasni Awang has vowed for a better outing in the men’s elite sprint event today.

The 37-year-old’s return to competitive cycling after a one-year hiatus saw him finish fifth in the men’s elite keirin final and he is hoping for better luck in the sprint.

“I manage to make my way to the final (keirin) but then tough luck for me as I was drawn in lane 6.

“Still reaching the final is a positive outcome for me after not racing for a year.

“I did three good races in keirin and let’s hope for better luck in the sprint tomorrow,” said Azizul, who last raced at the Paris Olympics in August.