CYCLING: Romancing the gold medals

CYCLING: Romancing the gold medals


INTERESTINGLY, cyclists Arfy Qhairant Amran and Lauretta Eva Adrian were asked whether they are a couple during the final round of the ACC Track Asia Cup at the Kuala Lumpur Velodrome yesterday.

The two juniors had delivered all three gold medals for Malaysia who finished third overall behind Hong Kong and Iran.

"No, we're not a couple. We're just friends," said Asian junior 200m sprint champion Arfy who laughed off questions about his seemingly blossoming relationship with Sabahan Lauretta Eva, who produced a similar answer with a smile.

It was an impressive showing by the national team who were represented by riders from the Pelapis programme, as Arfy added the junior men's keirin gold medal to his 200m sprint gold on Saturday.

Lauretta Eva followed suit, seemingly inspired by Arfy's performance as she delivered a surprise women's junior keirin gold medal in what was virtually a carbon copy result of the junior men's keirin with compatriot Ummi Hamimah Mohamad coming in third for the bronze medal.

Pelapis Penang academy debutant, Marcus Malek McRone, took home the bronze medal.

Malacca-born Arfy, 18, said he was satisfied with his overall performance, as he was just beginning his new regime aimed towards the Asian Championships in Kuala Lumpur in February.

"It was also good to see the new juniors stepping up their game like Marcus. In the final, we had to change tactics as the start wasn't as planned, but still we got the result," said Arfy.

Marcus missed out on the silver, pipped in a photo-finish by Thailand's Worayut Kapunya.

Both Arfy and Lauretta Eva will now shift focus to winning places in the Asian Championships squad, Arfy is set to make the step up into the elite squad while Lauretta will likely earn a spot in the squad for junior events.

Lauretta Eva, 17, said she was more than satisfied with her victory in the keirin as it was unexpected.

"It was a great result. But now I will focus on making the squad for the Asian Championships," she said.

Earlier, the men's team sprint trio of Fattah Amri Zaid, Farhan Amri Zaid and Fakhruddin Daud lost out to Iran in the team sprint final.

Fattah impressed in the elite men's keirin, when he took a well deserved bronze in the final that was won by Iran's Mahmoud Parash ahead of his compatriot Mahmoud Rasouli. By Arnaz M. Khairul


Read more: CYCLING: Romancing the gold medals - Racing - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/racing/cycling-romancing-the-gold-medals-1.21269#ixzz1gwkjLffT