KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari was left in awe of para track cyclist Zuhairie Ahmad Tarmizi’s success in delivering Malaysia’s first gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games in Japan today.

Zuhairie clinched gold in the men’s 1,000-metre time trial in the C5 (physical impairment) category, clocking 1 minute 5.361 seconds in the final at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka.

“Our hero delivers the first gold medal in the men’s 1,000m time trial C4-5 event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games.

“Thank you for your fighting spirit and unwavering determination. The whole country is proud of you,” he said in an Instagram post today.

Dr Mohammed Taufiq also uploaded a photograph of himself celebrating Zuhairie’s triumph after watching the cyclist compete at the venue.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Jaturong Niwanti took silver in 1:07.206, while Indonesia’s Sufyan Saori claimed bronze in 1:08.166.

Today’s victory also allowed Zuhairie to make amends for his disappointment at the 2025 ASEAN Para Games in Thailand, where he settled for silver after losing to Niwanti.

The 36-year-old had earlier shattered the Games record in the qualifying round, clocking 1:04.882 to erase the previous mark of 1:07.311 set by China’s Lai Shanzhang at the 2022 edition in Hangzhou, China.

The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games, which officially opened yesterday, will run until Oct 24. — Bernama