SSGC riders shine at national cycling

Ali Ilyas, Rabia Gharib and Zeeshan claim individual gold medals Photo: PCF Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) riders claimed multiple gold medals as the 10th National Road Cycling Championship which started Bahria Town Karachi on Friday. Ali Ilyas won the elite men's individual time trial for SSGC, while teammate Rabia Gharib secured gold in the elite women's event. Zeeshan of Army also claimed top honours in the junior men's individual time trial. The championship brought together cyclists representing departmental, institutional and provincial teams from across the country. Col Aamir Hanif inaugurated the competition. In the elite men's individual time trial, Muhammad Bilal of Army finished second behind Ilyas, while Ahmad Zaib Malik of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took bronze. Gharib topped the elite women's podium, ahead of Zainab Rizwan of Pakistan Cycling Academy and Muskan Aslam of Army, who finished second and third respectively. Army's Zeeshan won the junior men's individual time trial, with Muhammad Khan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa taking silver and Nisar of Punjab earning bronze. SSGC continued its strong showing in the men's team time trial, securing gold ahead of Army, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finished third. In the women's junior category, Noor Fatima of Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) won gold. Ali Saba of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa claimed silver, while Rahmat of Sindh took bronze. The masters events also produced competitive finishes. Faisal Gharib of SSGC won the Masters 50-plus category, followed by Rehan Haider of Islamabad and Sher Muhammad of Balochistan. Wazeer Ahmed contributed another gold for SSGC in the men's masters category for riders under 48 years. Ghulam Abbas of Army secured silver, while Wazeer Muhammad of Crank Addict finished third.