PETALING JAYA: National cyclist Zuhairie Ahmad Tarmizi secured Malaysia’s first gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games on Monday (Oct 19), triumphing in the men's C4-C5 1,000m time trial.
The 36-year-old former footballer dominated the final at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka, clocking 1’05:361 to finish well ahead of his competitors.
Thailand’s Jaturong Niwanti claimed silver with a time of 1’07:206, while Sufyan Saori from Indonesia took bronze with 1’08:166.
Zuhairie signaled his intent earlier in the qualifying rounds, where he shattered the Games record with a time of 1’04:882.
The previous record of 1’07:311 had been set by China's Lai Shanzhang during the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
This victory marks Zuhairie’s second Asian Para Games gold, following his historic win in Jakarta-Palembang in 2018, where he became the first Malaysian cyclist to top the podium at the Games.
In other events, reigning world champion Mohd Yusof Hafizi Shaharuddin added to Malaysia’s medal tally with a bronze in the men's C1-C2 3,000m individual pursuit.
His time of 3’52:930 was just enough to narrowly edge out Indonesian Tifan Abid Alana, who finished on 3’53:552 in the bronze medal race.
