IPOH: Buoyed by support from national record holder Rizal Tisin, Selangor track rider Fadhil Zonis had no difficulty clinching the men's 1km time trial gold at the Perak Malaysia Games today.
The 20-year-old, who won gold in the discipline at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games last year, emerged victorious in a time of one minute and 4.098 seconds at Velodrome Rakyat here.
Johor's Amar Danial Masri (1:06.545s) and Perak’s Ahmad Safwan Ahmad Nazeri (1:06.687s) settled for silver and bronze respectively.
Selangor coach Yusof Abdul Nasir said he was pleased with Fadhil's timing, despite not breaking Rizal's national record.
The latter is also from Selangor.
"We had targeted Fadhil to win the gold. Rizal's appearance today gave our contingent added motivation," said Yusof.
"Although he did not break the record, I am not disappointed. Fadhil's time was still very good considering that we are competing in an open-air velodrome."
Rizal's national mark of 1:01.658s was set at the World Championships in Poland nine years ago. He is currently part of Singapore's coaching setup.
Meanwhile, the women's 500m time trial saw Perlis' Anis Amira Rosidi clinching gold, her second at the games, in a time of 36.363s.
Kedah's Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri, who is only 15, took silver on 37.462s while Terengganu’s Siti Nur Alia Mansor (38.531s) settled for bronze.
"This is my second Malaysia Games appearance and also my last, so I am very happy to win two gold," said Anis, who is based with the national team in Melbourne.
Anis added that she hopes to carry on her good form at the Asia Cup in Bangkok next month.
