KUALA LUMPUR: Japan's Takuto Oshima and China's Lin Xinyu claimed the men's and women's elite titles respectively at the Asia Triathlon Cup (ATC) Putrajaya — the season-opener of this year's 16-event continental series, held at the Kompleks Sukan Air Putrajaya on Saturday.

Oshima, ranked No. 10 in Asia, won the men's elite race in 53:49s, leading an all-Japanese podium ahead of Kazushi Jozuka (54:00) and Genta Uchida (54:05).

The triumph was Oshima's third ATC victory, following his wins at the Subic Bay leg in the Philippines and the Yilan leg in Taiwan last year, and capped a memorable first appearance on Malaysian soil.

"This is my first time racing in Malaysia," said Oshima.

"It was extremely hot and physically demanding, but overall I felt good and was able to execute the race the way I wanted to."

The Putrajaya leg also formed a key part of Japan's early-season preparations, with a strong contingent fielded ahead of major assignments later in the year, including the Yokohama leg of the World Triathlon Championship Series in May.