‘Double Gold Our Gift For Late Coach’ - Terengganu Riders

By Muhammad Faiz Baharin

KUCHING, Aug 15 (Bernama) -- "This is our present and remembrance for coach Muhammad Muslim Marzuki, who did not live to see our success,” said Terengganu’s men’s mass start individual gold medallist Muhamad Iqbal Daniel Mohd Nawawi, who also helped his team clinch the team gold at the 2024 Malaysia Games (SUKMA).

Muhammad Muslim Marzuki, the Terengganu SUKMA cycling coach, died when the motorcycle he was riding was involved in an accident with a lorry. He was, at that time, accompanying Iqbal and his teammates to undergo training at Kilometre 52 of Jalan Kuantan-Maran on Nov 12 last year.

Iqbal said the tragedy, which occurred when they were preparing for the 2023 Negeri Sembilan Tour Championships and 2024 SUKMA in Sarawak, hit them hard.

“Coach (Muslim) worked hard to ensure we would be in the best shape and get the best training. So, I told the team to make SUKMA the platform for us to rise and carry the coach’s spirit with us with every pedal and do our best to win for him today,” he said. 

The 20-year-old Iqbal clinched the individual gold after completing the 146.4-kilometre (km) route along the Pehin Sri Adenan Satem Highway here in 3 hours, 39 minutes and 16 seconds (s).

Elaborating, Iqbal, who is making his second SUKMA appearance after the 2022 edition in Kuala Lumpur, said he never set himself a gold target in the individual category as he only recently transitioned to the road racing event following the cancellation of the track event.

“I am originally a track racer, but this year (SUKMA) does not have a track event, so the coach monitored my performance and decided to rope me in to help the road racing team. So I did not expect to win both golds,” he said.

Terengganu took home the team gold medal with a total time of 10:59:25s. It was a repeat of their two-gold feat at the 2016 SUKMA that was also held in Sarawak.

Team coach Syed Mohd Hussaini described the three gold medals they have won, so far, including that contributed by Kee Zhe Yie in the men’s individual time trial, as a result of sheer hard work and months of intensive training.

“Let’s wait for the rest of the events… we may add more gold medals to turn our campaign in Sarawak into the best-ever achievement by Terengganu cycling in the history of our participation in SUKMA,” he said.

Tomorrow, the Pehin Sri Adenan Satem Highway will see two more gold medals on offer in the women’s mass start individual and team events.

-- BERNAMA