The national track cycling squad riders did not stand out on their first day of competition at the Tokyo Paralympic Games today.

Nur Azlia Syafinaz Mohd Zais with her helmsman, Nurul Suhada Zainal, who started the national squad's campaign at the Izu Velodrome this morning finished in ninth place in the women's 1000 metres (m) time trial in the B (visual impairment) category with a time of 1 minute 15.005 second (s).

Dutch rider Larissa Klaassen not only won gold but also broke the Paralympic Games record with a time of 1: 05.219 s, leaving Great Britain rider Aileen McGlynn Obe to settle for silver after clocking 1: 06.743s while Griet Hoet of Belgium posted 1: 07.943s to take home the bronze.

In the men's 3000m pursuit C1 (physical disabilities) category, Mohamad Yusof Hafizi Shaharuddin had to forget his desire to at least compete in the bronze medal race after finishing seventh out of 10 riders in the qualifying race with a time of 3: 58.413s. .

Russian Paralympic Committee rider Mikhail Astashov who emerged as the fastest rider in the race also broke the world record with a time of 3: 35.954s.


Meanwhile, bland action continued to be displayed by two other national riders, Muhammad Hafiz Jamali and Zuhairie Ahmad Tarmizi in the men's 1000m C4 time trial (physical disabilities).

Zuhairie clocked 1: 06.472s to come in tenth place while Muhammad Hafiz posted 1: 11.288s to finish in 19th place out of 21 riders overall.

Alfonso Cabello Llamas of Spain grabbed the gold in 1: 01.557s, disappointing defending champion from Great Britain, Jody Cundy, who had to settle for silver after clocking 1: 02.529s while Slovakian rider Jozef Metelka took the bronze with a time of 1: 05.500s


Meanwhile, national coach Sallehudin Mohd Noh was still satisfied with the performance displayed by his charges despite not being able to mount a challenge for podium position.

Sallehuddin also praised the performance of all the riders, saying they still showed high determination to compete with the other athletes.

He also hoped that the cyclists can focus fully on the mixed team sprint event, scheduled to take place this Saturday.

-- BERNAMA