KUALA LUMPUR: It was his final chance to honour a recent promise made to his mother and national back-up squad cyclist Muhd Arfy Qhairant Amran got his act right to nail the keirin gold medal at the Cheras Velodrome yesterday.
The 18-year-old Arfy was bunched together in the chasing pack as Muhd Fakhruddin Daud took the lead. And he timed his dash down the straight perfectly to secure Malacca’s first gold in Sukma track cycling. Johor’s Fakhruddin settled for the silver ahead of Mohd Fattah Amri Zaid of Kedah.
Arfy made it to the final after winning his first two heats and he was glad to succeed in his mission to become a Sukma champion after two previous unsuccessful outings.
Arfy’s gold is also the first for Malacca in cycling since Ng Yong Li won the time trial road race in the 2004 Negri Sembilan Games.
“I only got a bronze in the 1km time trial in Malacca last year,” said Arfy.
“This is my third Sukma and I got a complete set of one gold, one silver and one bronze. It’s my best achievement and I’m happy I fulfilled a promise made to my mother to win a gold medal. This gold is for my family’s support to help me become a top rider.”
Arfy was tipped to become a winner for Malacca after a hot run at the Asian junior championships in Korat in February. He ended Malaysia’s four-year gold drought in championship series, winning the sprint event. He also bagged two silver medals from the 1km time trial and team sprint events.
However, it had looked like another frustrating campaign in Sukma until the final day of competition.
Arfy was beaten by Fakhruddin in the semi-finals of the sprint on Monday and only managed a bronze as Fattah bagged the gold.
His effort of 1:10.127 in the 1km time trial yesterday morning gave him the silver behind Selangor’s Mohd Elmi Jumari, who clocked 1:09.854.
“The keirin final was the last competition but it was still a tough fight as riders like Fattah, Fakhruddin and Mohd Saufi (Mat Senan of Terengganu) were capable of winning it,” said Arfy.
“I was following them but I knew I had to come out fast after the bell rang for the final lap or I would not even get among the medals. I’m happy I managed to cross the line first.”
Arfy will now turn his attention to the Track World Juniors in Moscow in August.
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