Debutant Irwandie rides his way to surprise gold in men's scratch event

NILAI: The Malaysian track cycling squad kicked off their SEA Games campaign with a surprise gold in the men's Scratch when track cycling events started at the National Velodrome in Nilai, here today.
Irwandie Lakasek, 22, making his SEA Games debut ended the 15km race that involved 60 laps in first place to sweep the gold which certainly was not among events targeted for gold, while Thai riders Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn and Thanawut Sanikwathi took the silver and bronze medals respectively.
The rider from Kemaman, Terengganu produced an energetic performance to leave the rest of the field more than a lap behind although the two Thai riders managed to catch up later while another Malaysian rider, Muhamad Afiq Huznie Othman finished fourth.
The race had started on an even pace among the 11 riders but sensing an opportunity midway through the race, Irwandie started to break away in an attacking move, followed by the two Thai riders.
With two laps remaining, Irwandie picked up the pace to leave the two riders to compete for the silver and bronze medals.
"I am happy to have contributed the first gold in track cycling despite competing for the first time but I have trained hard for almost two years and prepared well for the assault. I wish to thank all the people who have supported me, my parents, the Malaysian Navy and Armed Forces. After this my focus will be on qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics," said Irwandie after the prize presentation.
The 11 riders in the men's Scratch were from Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia.
The Scratch event was last contested at the 2011 SEA Games in Palembang where Malaysia clinched the gold through Mohd Harrif Saleh. — Bernama