Uzbekistan's Muradian Khalmuratov stole the limelight by winning the Asian champion's title on the final day of the Hero Asian Cycling Championship on Sunday.
Khalmuratov, 31, clinched gold in the gruelling 156.2 km individual road race event in the men's elite category, swelling
his gold tally to two, a first in his career. He had earlier won the top spot in the 42.6 km individual time trial event. "It was satisfying trip to India," said the jubilant rider.
Setback
Iran's Sohrabi Mehdi, the favourite to win the title, suffered a setback as he finished a disappointing 12th. The Iranian team, however, got some satisfaction as Arvin Goudarzi claimed silver. Kazakhstan's Andrey Mizurov bagged the bronze.
Kazakhstan proved to be too good for the rest of Asia, topping the medals tally with three gold, four silver and two bronze, while Hong Kong and China finished second with two gold and a bronze, followed by Uzbekistan, who won two gold.
Meanwhile, the four Indian cyclists, Atul Kumar, Sombir Singh, Amresh Singh and Arvind Panwar, were among the 37 riders who failed to finish the race. The next Asian Cycling Championship will be held at Astana, Kazakhstan, next year.