FADHIL, KHAIRIL BAG DOUBLE GOLD

Malaysia finish third overall in Track Asia Cup in New Delhi

REPORTS BY FADHLI ISHAK fadhli.ishak@nst.com.my

TRACK cyclists Fadhil Zonis and Khairil Nizam Rasol lived up to expectations as they delivered gold medals in the Track Asia Cup in New Delhi, which ended yesterday.

Fadhil, who won the 1km time trial gold earlier in the competition, added the men’s keirin title to his personal haul, edging Ranjit Singh of India to the finish line in the decider.

Khairil came in third in the final at the Indira Gandhi Velodrome.

The sprint final was an all-Malaysian affair which saw Khairil overcoming Fadhil 2-0.

Khairil defeated India’s Sahil Kumar while Fadhil overcame Ranjit with identical 2-0 wins in the semi-finals.

National coach Junaidi Nasir was pleased with his charges’ performances.

“We wanted to collect as many ranking points as possible here as we are trying to qualify for the UCI World Cup series which starts next month,” said Junaidi.

“Khairil and Fadhil both did as they were expected to do. It has been a good outing for us here.”

The duo, who are both under the Sime Darby Foundation’s track programme, were the only Malaysian riders competing in Delhi.

Malaysia finished third overall in the competition, with a haul of three gold, one silver and one bronze.

The World Cup season starts with the opening leg in Pruszkow, Poland on Nov 3-5.