Fatin showcases her potential
Fatin showed good composure in taking the under-15 sprint bronze medal, despite a relegation in the second heat of her duel with Perangsang Selangor's Nur Fasihah Atikah Mohd Yusni.
Just two years after taking up the sport seriously, Fatin could find herself in the Pelapis squad aimed at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
“It feels good to have won my second medal in the circuit but I'm still not satisfied with my endurance. I had a medal in the scratch race in the first round, but here I've improved in the sprint,” said Fatin, a student at the SMK Padang Polo in Penang.
It is a meteoric rise for the slender Fatin, who just two years ago, harboured little ambition in sport, apart from riding her fixed gear bike for fun on the streets of Penang.
“I never thought I could end up here. Until the coaches saw me and said the Penang team lacked girls, so I gave it a go. Then I began training and I found that I could actually take this more seriously.”
In the under-15 boys’ sprint final, favourite Mohd Nur Aiman Rosli of Johor was surprised by Terengganu's Wan Abdul Rahman Hamdan in the final.
Wan Abdul Rahman, making his second appearance in the circuit, showed he has stepped up his game, confidently taking the lead and leaving Nur Aiman in his wake in both heats.
In the battle among the top guns heading for the Asian Junior Championships in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand in February, national junior Shariz Afeendi Shahrin gained a morale boosting double after he was dragged to three heats in the under-19 sprint final by teammate Khairil Nizam Rasol.
Mohd Fadhil Mohd Zonis, expected to complete the team sprint trio with the top pair, had to settle for the bronze after beating Pelapis Regional Centre rider Hamif Kamaludin.
Shariz Afeendi bagged victory in the keirin after edging Khairil Nizam at the finish, with Pelapis Regional Centre rider Mohd Firdaus Hadi taking third spot.
Asian Junior Championships bronze medallist Farina Shawati Mohd Adnan had no trouble maintaining her dominance after bulldozing the opposition again, sweeping aside Pelapis rider Anis Amira Rosidi in the final.
Farina also took the keirin victory in style ahead of Nurul Alissa Mohd Azman and Kuala Lumpur's Noraidillina Adilla J. Sam.
- By Arnaz M. Khairul (New Straits Times, 1st December 2014)