Prince Hylem showed his big heart to clinch the men's 20km scratch race bronze on the concluding day of the four-nation invitational test event at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex cycling velodrome here on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Kerala boy maintained a good speed throughout the race to bag his first ever international medal.
For most part of the 80-lap contest, four Indians were part of the five-man leading group. With the contest entering the closing stages, three of them lagged behind as Prince tried his best to finish in the medal bracket.
Australian Stephen Hall increased his pace at the right time to take the lead and eventually win the gold. Malaysian Faiz Syarifuddin Kadir finished second.
Prince, who took up the 20km scratch race a year ago, was delighted with his effort. “I slowed down towards the end because of tiredness. However, I hung on there in the close contest,” he said, while admitting that Hall had a better plan for the race.
Ch. Rameshwori Devi landed the silver medal in the women's sprint event after she was convincingly beaten by Ting-Ying Huang of Chinese Taipei. Mahitha Mohan got the bronze when Rajani Vijayakumari was relegated for not holding to her line.
O. Bikram Singh earned the other medal of the day for the home side as he bagged the men's sprint bronze by defeating Benjamin Wibberley of Australia.
Australia claimed the overall team championship. Hall (two gold medals) was adjudged the best among the men riders, while Ting-Ying (two gold) was named the best among women.
The results (Indians unless specified): Men: Sprint: 1. Fakhruddin Daud (Mas); 2. Farhan Amri Zaid (Mas); 3. O. Bikram Singh; 20km scratch race: 1. Stephen Hall (Aus); 2. Faiz Syarifuddin Kadir (Mas); 3. Prince Hylem.
Women: Sprint: 1. Ting-Ying Huang (Tpe); 2. Ch. Rameshwori Devi; 3. Mahitha Mohan.
