At his best to deliver
Shah Firdaus in better shape than Azizul for Gold Coast
KUALA LUMPUR: Can cyclist Muhd Shah Firdaus Sahrom (pic) steal the limelight from his more illustrious teammate and Melbourne training partner Azizulhasni Awang in Gold Coast?
National coach John Beasley certainly thinks so of the 22-yearold, who will be making his Commonwealth Games debut next week.
Shah Firdaus, who is being groomed to take over from Azizul when the 30-year-old decides to call it a day, will also ride in the individual sprint and keirin at the Anna Meares Velodrome.
“Azizul’s performance level is not where we want him to be because of his lung infection but Shah Firdaus is at his best based on the training data we have,” said Beasley.
“He has been under the radar for the past season but I think he’s ready to step up.
“I think he has a chance for a medal as everyone else if he goes into the final.”
Shah Firdaus did not win gold at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games last year as Azizul took centrestage.
However, the Johor-born cyclist showed he can be depended on when the going gets tough by winning his first World Cup medal – a bronze – in the final round in Los Angeles, United States, in 2016.
That year, Shah Firdaus also won a bronze in keirin at the Asian Track Championships in New Delhi, India.
Shah Firdaus showed he has the pace by posting a qualifying run of 9.977 in the sprint at the Asian meet in Nilai last month. He briefly held the national record until Azizul came up with a 9.774.
Azizul felt it is not beyond Shah Firdaus to bag a Commonwealth Games medal despite the presence of defending champion Matthew Glaetzer of Australia and rising star Jack Carlin of Scotland.
Carlin, representing Britain, was beaten to the gold medal in the sprint by Glaetzer at the world meet in Apeldoorn, Holland, last month.
“Shah Firdaus has gone under 10 seconds and I consider him a world-class cyclist.
“If both of us make the final, I probably will help him fight for victory as he is in a better condition than me at this point,” said Azizul, the 2017 world champion and bronze medallist in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow for keirin.