Double the joy
Malaysians Fadhil and Khairil capture two titles in New Delhi
KUALA LUMPUR: Cyclists Muhd Fadhil Mohd Zonis and Muhd Khairil Nizam Rasol made it a day of double joy for Malaysia at the Track Asia Cup leg in New Delhi, India.
Khairil beat teammate Fadhil to clinch the men’s elite sprint title at the Indira Gandhi Velodrome yesterday.
The duo had earlier ensured an all-Malaysia final after beating their opponents from India by identical 2-0 scores in the semi-finals.
Khairil overcame Sahil Kumar while Fadhil beat Ranjit Singh.
Fadhil later went on to clinch his second gold of the championships by winning the keirin final.
Malaysia also earned bronze in keirin through Khairil, who finished behind Ranjit.
Fadhil’s first gold for Malaysia came in the 1km time trial on Thursday.
“It’s been a productive trip for us. Fadhil and Khairil were our only cyclists in the fray and they achieved what was expected of them.
“Our mission was to earn maximum ranking points to compete in the new Track World Cup season, starting next month, by winning the sprint and keirin,” said coach Junaidi Nasir.
Khairil and Fadhil, who raced under the Sime Darby Foundation backing, were gold medallists at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in August, when the 20-year-old Khairil combined with Fadhil and Mohd Shariz Efendi Mohd Shahrin to win the team sprint gold medal.
Fadhil also romped to his second gold medal at the KL Games by winning the 1km time trial.
The Track World Cup season starts with the first leg in Pruszkow, Poland from Nov 3-5 followed by Manchester (England, Nov 10-12), Milton (Canada, Dec 1-3); and Santiago (Chile, Dec 9-10).