NILAI: National track cyclist Muhammad Fadhil Zonis (pix) is ready to guide two more national male trio riders Muhammad Ridhwan Sahrom and Umar Hasbullah in the hunt for the first gold in the team sprint event at the upcoming championships.
Muhammad Fadhil who is also in the trio said his team is capable of displaying energetic and faster cycling if they can improve small weaknesses and continuously polish the strengths of each individual.
“I think our performance can go further, there are many factors we can touch up. The game before the Asian Track Cycling Championship (ACC) 2024 we didn’t have much training, it was more about individuals, but the performance was okay.
“If we focus there will be opportunities. I’m sure we can break the national record. There are many factors that can be improved and they are still young, there is still a lot of time, I have to guide them,“ he told reporters here today.
He said this when asked to comment on his team’s performance in winning silver at the ACC in New Delhi, recently.
The trio of men, who came out as bronze winners last year at the National Velodrome, Nilai, managed to improve their position to second place with a record of 44.607 seconds (s) at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.
The national team lost to defending champions Japan, whose line-up of Yuta Obara, Kento Yamasaki and Minato Nakaishi defended their Asian title with a record of 44.367s in the final, while China took home the bronze after defeating the home team in the third-place playoff.
Commenting further, Muhammad Fadhil said he did not expect his team to be able to obtain silver.
“We are trying to get gold but our team can get silver and we are very grateful even though we feel for the event, like there is a chance but when it is before the final, I feel a sore throat,“ he said.
The trio of Muhammad Fadhil, Muhammad Ridhwan and Umar have been partnering since June last year starting at ACC 2023 in Nilai and they continued to show good performance by landing bronze medal at that time.
Previously, Muhammad Fadhil partnered with two national track cycling champions Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom as the national men’s trio. –Bernama
