Olympic debut a major milestone for Nurul Izzah

NATIONAL track cycling star Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri has described her debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as a big step in her cycling career.

The 20-year-old said she did not expect her name to be listed to compete in such a prestigious sporting event, but admitted it is just the beginning of better things to come in the sport.

The Kedah-born athlete said she is determined to work hard to deliver a strong performance in Paris.

“It is every athlete’s dream to qualify for the

Olympic Games. It’s a big step for me. I hope my career will not end here; this is just the beginning for me to move forward.

“There is still a lot I need to learn in my career; nothing is impossible, and size is not the only measure of success,” she said in a post on her Instagram yesterday.

On Tuesday, the International Cycling Union (UCI) released the track cycling quotas for each National Olympic Committee (NOC), announcing that Nurul Izzah, along with Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom had officially qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Four Malaysian cyclists will compete in the Paris games after Nur Aisyah Zubir earlier secured a spot in road cycling, making history as the first Malaysian woman to compete in a road event at the Olympics.

With this latest development, nine Malaysian athletes have officially qualified for the Olympics, The others are diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises, sailor Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif, shooter Johnathan Wong, archer Ariana Nur Dania Mohd Zairi, and weightlifter Mohamad Aniq Kasdan, who had confirmed their places earlier.