Zuhairie takes Malaysia's opening gold after Games record in qualifying
The cyclist won the men's C4-C5 1,000 metre time trial, finishing ahead of Thailand's Jaturong Niwanti and Indonesia's Sufyan Saori.
Malaysia opened its medal account at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games with gold from track cyclist Zuhairie Ahmad Tarmizi. Racing in the men's C4-C5 time trial over 1,000 metres, he completed the final in one minute, 5.361 seconds at Shizuoka's Izu Velodrome.
Zuhairie's victory followed a record-breaking qualifying ride. His leading time of 1:04.882s replaced the Games mark of 1:07.311s established by Chinese cyclist Lai Shanzhang at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
The silver medal went to Thailand's Jaturong Niwanti, who recorded 1:07.206s in the final. Indonesia's Sufyan Saori earned bronze with a time of 1:08.166s.
In a social media message, Youth and Sports Minister Dr Taufiq Johari praised Zuhairie's performance and congratulated him on delivering Malaysia's first gold. The minister also said the cyclist had gone faster than at the Asian Championships earlier in the year.
