IN sports, it’s not about how many times you fall but how many times you get back on your feet.
And that’s exactly what rising national track cyclist Muhammad Ridwan Sahrom did at the ASEAN Track Series (President’s Cup) 3 at the National Velodrome here today.
The 24-year-old, more affectionately known as ‘Boy’, failed to even qualify for the keirin final in Series 1 and 2 but proved his mettle at the third time of asking when he stunned the field to bag the gold medal in Series 3.
What’s interesting is that he proved to be in a class of his own when he outperformed his senior, Muhammad Fadhil Mohd Zonis, for the gold medal.
Muhammad Ridwan produced a powerful performance to cross the finish line in 10.144 seconds (s), leaving Muhammad Fadhil in second place and South Korea’s Kang Seoujun in third spot.
“Today is the final day and this is my last event before the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) Track Cycling Championships (ACC 2025) begin (from Feb 21-27 at the same venue). The race (today) ended well for me since I failed to even qualify for the final in Series 1 and 2. So, I am delighted that I managed to prove my credentials by getting the keirin gold this time.
“Winning the (men’s elite) sprint gold (in Series 3) yesterday also motivated me to go for gold in the keirin event today. My coach also gave me a lot of advice,” said Muhammad Ridwan, who also won the men’s elite sprint gold in Series 2.
Earlier, national woman track cycling ace Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri clinched the women’s keirin gold by clocking 11.200s, leaving South Koreans Kim Haeun and Hwang Hyeonseo to settle for silver and bronze respectively.
