KUALA LUMPUR: Fadhil Zonis will not be short on confidence in the defence of his 1km time trial (1km TT) gold at the Asian Cycling Championships (ACC) in New Delhi on Sunday.
On Wednesday, Fadhil was in great form as he led youngsters Umar Hasbullah and Ridwan Sahrom to the men's elite team sprint silver behind heavyweights Japan at the Indira Gandhi Velodrome.
The silver medal finish bettered their bronze effort at the 2023 edition in Nilai.
Fadhil, a former Asian record holder in the 1km TT, won the silver in the discipline in 2020 and 2022 before finally finishing on top of the podium last year.
The 25-year-old is now fired for his pet event, the 1km TT.
"Alhamdulillah for the unexpected silver medal win in this Asian Championships for the team sprint event. Our target was only bronze," posted the Klang rider on Facebook.
"We are delighted with the performance we achieved. There are many positives and we need to address weaknesses for the future."
On Thursday, the para-cyclists delivered two gold through Khairul Hazwan Wahab and his partner Arfy Qhairant Amran, clocking 1:06.256 seconds in the men's tandem 1km TT.
Compatriots Ahmad Alami Mohamad and Khairul Adha Rasol settled for the silver with 1:07.362.
Nur Azlia Syafinaz Mohd Zais and her partner Farina Shawati Mohd Adnan delivered the second gold after recording 1:13.350s in the women's tandem 1km TT.
Malaysia's Nur Suraya Muhamad Zamri and Nurul Suhada Zainal settled for the silver with 1:14.486.