PETALING JAYA: Sarawak does not even have a velodrome yet but the state can already boast an Asian junior champion cyclist.
Danial Hakim Zulkaisi pulled off a stunning win in the men’s junior elimination race to claim Malaysia’s first gold medal at the Asian Cycling Championships in Tagaytay, Philippines.
The 18-year stayed on steady pace at the front from the start and sealed victory with a brazen final sprint attack.
Danial is the first Malaysian cyclist to win in the men’s junior ranks of the Asian meet since Mohd Firdaus Zonis romped to a triple gold (sprint, keirin and 1km time trial) at Astana, Kazakhstan back in 2014.
Coming in second behind Danial was Kim Se-won of South Korea and Yau Chung Ming of Hong Kong.
It’s certainly a big step up for Danial in his second appearance in the Asian meet after he finished last in the points race in last year’s edition at the National Velodrome in Nilai.
Danial has not only made it to the podium but earned Malaysia’s first ever success in the men’s junior endurance discipline.
It is the second medal for Malaysia in the junior ranks after Nur Umairah Qhaisara Zulfikha Razak contributed a silver in the women’s sprint event on Thursday.
Danial, however, missed out on a second medal when he finished fourth with partner Mohd Nazir Afif in the men’s junior Madison race.
South Korea’s Shin Na-ra-Kim Do-ham took the gold ahead of Huang Sichen-Xu Ruiyi of China while Sotaro Matsuda-Tsukasa Sawano took the bronze for Japan.
Malaysia’s Davia Evriel Erian Azif a finished fifth in the women’s junior elimination race won by China’s Ding Aonan.
The sprinters will return today for the sprint qualifying rounds today where Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri and Mohd Ridwan Sahrom will be looking to achieve personal best times.
