KUALA LUMPUR: Fadhil Zonis will not be defending his 1km time trial (1km TT) gold medal at the Asian Track Cycling Championships (ACC) in New Delhi tomorrow, and has also withdrawn from today's keirin after picking up a virus.
"After a consultation with my coach (John Beasley) and the medical team, it has been decided that I will not be able to participate in the keirin and 1km TT races," he said on social media today.
"(I have) fallen ill with a virus and an infection which has left me unable to compete. I am truly gutted to miss out on defending my 1km TT title.
"My sincere apologies for not being able to finish my races. My priority now is to recover, and I will come back stronger and fight for it next year."
Fadhil, competing alongside Ridwan Sahrom and Umar Hasbullah, had earlier this week claimed silver in the men's team sprint event at ACC.
Though adept at the sprint and keirin disciplines, he has been most impressive in the 1km TT.
The 26-year-old won the silver in the event twice at ACC in 2020 (Jincheon) and 2022 (New Delhi) before claiming his maiden gold when the Asian meet was held at the National Velodrome in Nilai last year.
Malaysia still has a chance of winning a medal in the women's 500m TT through up-and-coming Izzah Izzati Asri who claimed silver in the event last year and won gold in 2022.