Indonesian cyclist Fadli wins gold, breaks Asian Para Games record

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3 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian para-cyclist Muhammad Fadli Imammuddin clinched the gold medal and set a new Games record in the men’s C4 4,000-meter individual pursuit at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games on Tuesday.

Competing at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka, Japan, Fadli clocked 4 minutes and 50.169 seconds in the qualifying round to advance as the top seed.

His time shattered the previous Games record of 4:52.032, set by China’s Wang Xian at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games on October 24, 2023.

Fadli maintained an average speed of 49.626 kilometers per hour during his record-breaking qualifying ride. He opened the first 1,000 meters in 1:18.934 to sit second, trailing 3.736 seconds behind the benchmark pace.

He surged ahead by clocking 2:28.666 at the 2,000-meter split to take the lead, maintaining his tempo through the 3,000-meter mark at 3:38.750 before crossing the finish line in 4:50.169.

In the gold medal race, Fadli secured victory by overlapping his opponent, Behrooz Farzad of Iran. Under track cycling rules for the individual pursuit, overlapping an opponent ends the contest immediately, awarding the victory to the overtaking rider.

Farzad took home the silver medal, while Abdulla Albalooshi of the United Arab Emirates claimed bronze after overlapping the Philippines’ Nikko Peralta in the third-place race.

The victory extends the former motorcycle racer’s remarkable streak of winning gold across three consecutive editions of the Asian Para Games.

Fadli won the C4 individual pursuit in Jakarta in 2018 and captured the C4-5 individual road time trial in Hangzhou in 2023, before climbing to the top of the podium once again in the C4 individual pursuit in Nagoya.

Fadli’s triumph secured the third gold medal for the Indonesian contingent at Asia’s premier multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities.

Indonesia opened its gold tally on Monday (October 19) through para-swimmer Maulana Rifky Yavianda, followed by para-athletics debutant I Kadek Dwi Purwana Yasa, who captured the nation’s second gold by breaking the world record in the men’s F57 discus throw earlier on Tuesday.