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RI cyclist wins gold despite injury
Indonesian cyclist Hildan Afosma seized gold in the men's mountain bike 1
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ndonesian cyclist Hildan Afosma seized gold in the men's mountain bike 1.5 kilometer downhill event despite injuriing his hip and left knee during training two days ago.
He clocked 2 minutes and 22,324 seconds at the downhill track in Mount Pleasant, Naypyitaw, Myanmar on Saturday morning, beating compatriot Purnomo who grabbed silver with 2:22,999. Suebsakun Sukchanya of Thailand took bronze with 2:24,125.
Hildan said that he was surprised with the result."I thought it would be my senior [Purnomo] who would bring home the gold. I was only targeting a silver medal," he said. "This is like a dream come true".
His left knee was still covered in bandages and looked swollen when he received the medal.
Hildan said that the injury did cause him problems during the race, however, he managed to stay positive during the race.
"I did my best and I convinced myself that i could do it. This is the result of my intensive training over the last two years," said the athlete who made his debut at the 27th edition of the Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar.
Coach Karman Sukarman admitted that he put most of his hopes on Purnomo rather than Hildan. Unfortunately fellow cyclict Risa Suseanty failed to follow suit.
She was only able to finish second behind Thailand's Vipavee Deekaballes who clocked 2:37,191 at the women's mountain 1.5km bike down hill event . Risa finished over a second behind, while Sttayanun Abdulkaree also from Thailand finished third with 2:42,635.
"I was only a second slower, but this is sport," she said."I almost hit a tree because the track is very narrow," Risa said adding that the narrow track made it difficult to navigate her bike.
