Dahlia leads Terengganu to draw first blood in cycling

KAJANG: Terengganu began their fierce rivalry with Johor in superb fashion by picking up the first gold medal on offer at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) road cycling competition in Bagan Lalang yesterday.

Dahlia Hazwani Hasyim (pic) came out tops in the women’s individual time trial gold after completing the 23km long course in a time of 31:07.044s.

Johor duo Intan Suraya Tokiman (+11.294s) and Nurina Qistina Zahraa Dewa Indra (+1:30.54s) settled for silver and bronze respectively.

Terengganu head coach Syed Husaini Syed Mazlan was impressed with Hazwani’s performance and felt it was comparable to what Malaysia’s top rider Nur Aisyah Zubir had dished out in previous editions.

Aisyah won seven gold medals in cycling for Terengganu and has since gone on to ride for Malaysia at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

“We had been focusing on improvement in specific areas during our recent training camp in Thailand to prepare for this Sukma,” said Husaini.

“This was one of the best performances from Hazwani and is probably only second best after what Aisyah achieved at Sukma level previously.”

Hazwani still have the women’s team time trial to compete today, followed by the criterium tomorrow and the mass start road race on Wednesday. Terengganu topped the overall medal table for cycling in Sarawak two years ago with five gold, three silver and four bronze medals.