HANOI, May 16 — The national women’s mountain bike team ended an 11-year medal drought by delivering two - a silver and a bronze - in the Cross Country Olympics (XCO) event at the 31st SEA Games here today.
National rider Nur Assyira Zainal Abidin did well to contribute a silver when she clocked 1 hour, 22 minutes and 14 seconds (s) in the 15.6 kilometres (km) event at the Hoa Binh Province, about 75km from here.
Natahsya Soon chipped in with a bronze when she clocked 1:23:00s while Vietnam’s Thi Nhu Quynh Dinh bagged the gold in 1:18:06s.
Malaysia’s third rider, Phi Kun Pan finished 12th in 1:33:44s.
However, there was no such luck for the men’s mountain bike team when they failed to get on the podium this evening.
The best Malaysian finisher in the 20.8km men’s race was Ahmad Syazrin Awang Illah, who finished eighth in 1:24:14s, while Muaz Abd Rahim ended up 12th in 1:27:27s.
Zulfikri Zulkifli, meanwhile, finished the four-lap race a lap behind to end up last among the 18 riders.
Meanwhile, Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) vice-president Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill was proud of the achievements of Nur Assyira and Natahsya, especially since the mountain bike team had failed to deliver a SEA Games medal for such a long time.
“Nur Assyira met expectations by delivering a medal for Malaysia. We are also proud that Natashya contributed a bronze medal.
“The MNCF are thrilled with their achievements after going 11 years without winning a medal,” he said, adding that the last time the national women’s mountain bike team delivered the goods - a bronze medal - was in the 2011 edition in Indonesia.
— Bernama
