National cyclist Nur Alyssa Farid wins women’s keirin gold despite knee injury, defending her title at the ASEAN Track Series in Nilai.
NILAI: National track cyclist Nur Alyssa Farid overcame left knee pain to win the women’s elite keirin gold medal at the ASEAN Track Series (President Cup) 2.
The 20-year-old defeated compatriot Yong Ann Tung, who took silver, while Hong Kong’s Tung Phoebe claimed bronze at the National Velodrome.
Nur Alyssa described a challenging final where she faced strong pressure from the Hong Kong rider sprinting from behind.
“The final was quite exhausting because I went early after the derny motorcycle led the race, and the Hong Kong rider was fast from behind,” she said.
She revealed she had to use significant energy to maintain her speed over nearly two and a half laps.
The Johor-born rider sustained the knee injury during training the previous day when her pedal came off and hit her.
“Actually, my left knee is hurting. Yesterday during training, my knee was hit when the pedal came off, so there is definitely pain,” she told reporters.
The victory marks a successful defence of the gold medal she also won at the ASEAN Track Series (President Cup) 1 last Thursday.
She also earned silver and bronze medals in sprint events during the same championship period.
Nur Alyssa dedicated her latest victory to her coach, Herman Terryn, despite the physical difficulties.
She is scheduled for a medical examination at the National Sports Institute this Tuesday following the injury.
The rising athlete aims to accumulate more points in Class One competitions to qualify for this year’s World Championships.
In the men’s elite keirin event, national cyclist Muhammad Ridwan Sahrom won the bronze medal.
Indonesia’s Dika Alif Dhentaka took silver, while the gold went to Hong Kong’s To Cheuk Hei.
