Medal boost at Asian meet for national cyclists
NEW DELHI: Winning three medals at the Asian Track Cycling Championships will improve Malaysia’s rankings for the world championships and help the game’s national development, says team manager Mohd Izham.
Rio Olympics cycling bronze winner Mohd Azizulhasni Awang clinched victory in the men’s elite individual sprint event at the 37th Asian Cycling Championships in New Delhi on Friday.
The 28-year-old defeated Japanese rider Tomoyuki Kawabata at the Indira Gandhi Velodrome. With his sprint gold medal, Azizulhasni also made up for the disappointment of finishing ninth in the men’s elite keirin event on Feb 7.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old track cyclist Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom won the bronze.
“It is a major championship that allows us to prepare for bigger games. We can get more points for qualifying for the world championships and improve our global ranking,” Izham told Bernama. “The championship in Delhi also helps our juniors as we are now focused on developing the next generation of Malaysian cyclists,” he said.
In the 24th Junior Asian Track Cycling Championships, 18-yearold Muhammad Nur Aiman Rosli won the bronze medal in the men’s omnium event on Friday.
With one gold and two bronze medals, Malaysia finished at number seven in the medal tally.
The Malaysian team had 23 cyclists, including four women, in the Feb 6-10 championship.
South Korea topped the list with 30 medals (nine gold), followed by China with 14 (eight gold) and Japan with 25 (seven gold). As co-host of this year’s Asian Cycling Championships, Bahrain will organise the road cycling events between Feb 24 and March 3.
Thirteen Malaysians are expected to compete in Bahrain.
The Asian championships are also being seen as a great way for Malaysian riders to sharpen their skills before the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur in August.
Track cycling in Malaysia is set to get a big boost when the National Velodrome is completed in April. The facility will host the track cycling events for the KL SEA Games. — Bernama