PETALING JAYA: Sawda Hasbullah smashed her own Asian record to retain her girls' junior 1km time trial title at the Asian Cycling Championships in Tagaytay, Philippines on Monday (March 30).
The 18-year-old had qualified for the final with the second fastest time of 1:11.986s behind South Korean Lee Hyun-ji, who clocked 1:11.143s.
The fastest eight riders advanced from the qualification round and Sawda indicated she was saving her best for the final as she emerged as the first rider from Asia to dip under the 1:10 mark.
Sawda posted 1:09.604s in the final, which became the new national record as well.
Sawda clocked 1:10.818s when she won the event at the National Velodrome in Nilai last year, which was then recognised as the new world record mark as well.
British rider Erin Boothman currently holds the world record with 1:08.092s, which she set at the European Championships in Portugal last year.
