KUALA LUMPUR: Newcomer Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid's decision to switch from road discipline to track paid off when she finished on the podium at the Asian Track Cycling Championships (ACC) today in Nilai.
The teenager only had one month of training, but it was enough to snatch a surprise silver in the women's junior keirin final at the National Velodrome.
Pint-sized Nur Alyssa who led the charge until she was pipped at the finish line by South Korean Na Yun Seo. Korean Kim Do Ye settled for the bronze.
Nur Alyssa's silver medal made up for the disappointment felt in the Malaysian camp after rising star Amber Yong Ann Tung missed out on the main final.
Amber, however, managed to bounce back to win the seventh-12 placing final.
Johorean Nur Alyssa was grateful to be on the podium in her first international competition.
"I have never gone anywhere outside Malaysia and the Asian championships is my first international assignment, so I felt very pleased to end up with a medal," said Nur Alyssa who is coached by former Olympian Fatehah Mustapa.
"I didn't expect it from keirin as South Korea riders are very strong, but it gives me the confidence to try for more in the 500m time trial and sprint after this."
RESULTS
Men
Elite
Elimination: 1. Eiya Hashimoto (Jpn), 2. Ramis Dinmukhametov (Kaz), 3. Leung Chun Wing (Hkg).
Selected: 8. Mohd Harrif Saleh (Mas).
Junior
Scratch: 1. Zhang En-teng (Tpe), 2. Pourya Yaghoubi (Iri), 3. Vadim Belugin (Kaz), 4. Zulfahmi Aukkurnain Aiman (Mas).
Women
Elite
Elimination: 1. Tsuyaka Uchino (Jpn), 2. Yang Qianyu (Hkg), 3. Huang Ting-ying (Tpe).
Selected: 9. Nur Fitrah Shaari (Mas).
Junior
Scratch: 1. Mistaki Okamoto (Jpn), 2. Kwon Nah-ye (Kor), 3. Intan Suraya Tokiman (Mas).
Keirin: 1. Na Yun-seo (Kor), 2. Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid (Mas), 3. Kim Do-ye (Kor), 4. Wang Rongrong (Chn), 5. Kim Do-kyung (Kor), 6. Valencia Tan (Sin).
Para Cycling
Men
(B) 1km time trial: 1. Kimura Kazuhei-Kiaki Miura (Jpn) 1:03.546, 2. Mohd Khairul Hazwan Wahab-Mohd Khairul Adha Rasol (Mas) 1:04.530, 3. Dalir Heidarabadi-Reza Rashno (Iri) 1:05.361.
C1-C3 scratch: 1. Liang Weicong (Chn), 2. Li Zhangyu (Chn), 3. Yusof Hafizi Shaharuddin (Mas).
(B) 1km time trial: 1. Nur Suraiya Mohd Zamri-Farina Shawati Mohd Adnan (Mas) 1:11.547, 2. Sri Sugiyanti-Nimal Maghfiroh (Ina) 1:12.974