The Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) elite road programme's humiliation in the 26th Sea Games ended in Subang yesterday with Ng Yong Li managing only a fourth placing in the men's 180km road race to close a chapter many will want to forget.
The big budget road programme ended the Sea Games without a single medal to show and came up with arguably their worst Sea Games performance ever despite hefty spending on training bases in Chiangmai, Thailand and Ipoh to adequately prepare the squad for the Games.
The men's road race saw Indonesia's Hari Fitrianto step out of the shadows of his senior compatriots as the 25-year old rode solo in the final kilometres to bag victory two minutes ahead of Mark Galedo Guevara of the Philippines, while Puchong Saiudomsil of Thailand outsmarted Yong Li to take the bronze in the final dash.
Yong Li's effort was, by an embarrassing margin, the closest the road team came to striking even a bronze in this Games. The next best finisher was Amir Mustafa Rusli in 10th, while Adiq Husainie Othman was 21st, Mohd Rauf Nor Misbah 23rd, national champion Shahrul Mat Amin was 28th and 2005 Sea Games gold medallist Suhardi Hassan only came in 33rd.
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