MALAYSIA FACE DIFFICULT ROAD TO QUALIFY FOR TEAM SPRINT IN TOKYO 2020
Malaysia have difficult path to qualify for team sprint in Tokyo 2020
KUALA LUMPUR: The scrapping of continental representation will make it difficult for the Malaysian men’s team sprint trio to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Only the top eight nations in the world rankings by May next year will qualify for the respective men’s and women’s team sprint.
Previously at the Beijing (2008) and London (2012) Olympics, three slots were reserved for Asian countries and it was later reduced to two at the Rio Olympics (2016).
Malaysia – represented by Azizulhasni Awang, Muhd Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Muhd Fadhil Zonis, are ranked 16th in the men’s team sprint Olympic rankings with 945 points.
Russia are eighth with 1,875 points. The Olympic qualification process for Tokyo 2020 has begun with the 2018-2019 UCI Track World Cup Series. Four rounds have concluded with two more to go in New Zealand and Hong Kong next month after the Asian Cycling Championships in Jakarta (Jan 8-13).
Azizul acknowledged the fact that there is a lot more work to be done for the team sprint squad to be in contention for the Olympics.
“It is still the early stage for the Olympic qualification process. I want to try to help the team sprint squad qualify for the Olympics as we have not competed at the last two editions.
“Our goal is to do well at the two designated Asian championships as they offer substantial ranking points for the Olympics,” said Azizul.
The team sprint trio have been included in Tier 1 of the revised training programme for national athletes next year.
They have been included in the highest tier following their achievement in bringing home a silver medal at the Asian Games in Indonesia in August.
Azizul, Shah Firdaus and Fadhil broke the 10-year team sprint national record at the Jakarta International Velodrome, clocking 43.934 en route to the final.
Azizul rode with Josiah Ng and Rizal Tisin to clock the previous national mark of 44.725 at the Beijing Olympics.
“We are in the process of building up the team sprint combination again, and I hope we can break the national record at the Asian championships next month,” added Azizul.
“It is very tough, but we want to give it a shot because getting a spot in the team sprint will allow Malaysia to have two riders each for the individual sprint and keirin,” said Azizul, the keirin world champion in 2017.