IT was a bittersweet moment for cyclist Mohd Harrif Saleh who withstood a nagging waist injury to defend his Criterium gold at the KL2017 SEA Games cycling event held at Dataran Putrajaya on Monday (21 Aug).
The Terengganu 29 year-old professional rider Pro clinced the gold ahead of Thailand’s Thanawut Sanikwathi, thanks a brotherly love support from Mohd Zamri Saleh who settled for bronze.
All three riders clocked a similar time 0:59.35 after nine laps and the sprinter believes it was the tight support by the whole team members which had led to Monday’s success.
“It was a close battle from the start. But thankfully, my teammates were instrumental in guiding me to this victory.
“Thailand and the Philippines took turns in launching their attacks but I believe we were all blessed to have a perfect run and win the title for the nation,” said Harrif.
Despite a nagging waist injury sustained three weeks ago, Harrif is now fired up to defend his other title – the individual mass start event.
“Winning the first gold is always important as it is a motivation and it builds the confidence to our next event.
“I thank the ISN for helping me with my waist injury and initially I was quite worried with my condition as they were reluctant to let me compete.
“The pain is still present but however I have the determination and spirit to defend my title at home. It will not break my spirit as I really want to defend both of my titles won in Singapore,” added Harrif.
