Fadhil stays grounded for home World Cup challenge

PETALING JAYA: National cyclist Mohd Fadhil Zonis prefers to keep his feet on the ground for the upcoming Track World Cup in Nilai from April 24-26.

The 28-year-old SEA Games gold medallist knows the challenge at the National Velodrome will be steep, with the world’s top sprinters set to line up.

Fadhil, who is set to compete in the team sprint event alongside teammates Mohd Ridwan Sahrom and Mohd Akmal Nazimi Jusena, said their team could find things difficult when facing stronger opponents.

“Our team have only been together for around a year, and because of that, aiming for a medal at the World Cup is quite tough,” said Fadhil.

“But we will try our best to make progress.”

The trio had a commendable run at the Asian Championships in Tagaytay, the Philippines, last month after smashing the national record set by Fadhil, Azizulhasni Awang, and Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom in 2018.

The time of 43.596s in the Philippines broke the previous indoor record of 43.934s set eight years ago.

The three had also won gold at the Thailand SEA Games last December, clocking 1:00.520s to erase the long-standing outdoor national mark of 1:02.077s set by Azizul, Mohd Edrus Yunus and Josiah Ng at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Fadhil is not alone in managing expectations.

Sprint ace Azizul has also warned of the intense competition awaiting in Nilai, with global heavyweights such as Harrie Lavreysen – a five-time Olympic gold medallist – and Britain’s Matthew Richardson set to feature.