Underdog tag may suit Shah in keirin
WITH all eyes on teammate Azizulhasni Awang, the Tokyo Olympics could prove to be the perfect opportunity for track cyclist Shah Firdaus Sahrom to pull off a major surprise and sneak onto the keirin podium.
Shah has improved tremendously over the past two seasons, though his gains have largely gone under the radar due to the lack of top-class competitions since Covid-19 struck last year.
The Johor-born, however, scored a new personal best in the individual sprint at the Berlin World Championships last season and earlier this year defeated Azizulhasni en route to winning the Victorian Keirin Championship in Australia.
His performances in these meets provide a brief glimpse of what to expect from him over the next few seasons.
Shah, who will be making his Olympic debut in Japan, is determined not to make up the numbers in Tokyo.
He has even been described in the official Malaysia Tokyo Olympic handbook as a ‘giant killer’.
“Although this will be my first time competing at the Olympics,
I am not going to take it easy there,” said Shah.
“I am going there with the same mission (to win) as Azizulhasni.
“However, I have not set too high of a target for myself because I lack the experience of competing at this level.
“What I can focus on is myself in terms of how I prepare physically and mentally. That is the most important thing.
“I am taking the same approach as Azizulhasni, I will go there and give it absolutely everything I have and accept whatever the results are without any regrets.”
Azizulhasni, 33, has tipped Shah as a potential winner in Tokyo.
The former keirin world champion and Olympic bronze medallist disclosed that Shah's performance in training has been very close to his own, with experience being the only factor separating the two.
Shah and Azizulhasni will compete in the men’s individual sprint (Aug 4-6) and keirin (Aug 7-8) at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka.
The duo's focus, however, will be on the latter event. Fadhli Ishak