Mirza dreams of gold at Jakarta Games
dubai — Top Emirati cyclist Yousif Mirza said that he had learnt the lessons of 2010 and 2014 and hopes to translate those twin fourth-place finishes to a medal and perhaps even a gold at the upcoming Asian Games.
Mirza, the UAE and Asian Track and Road Cycling champion, said that he has his sights set on the Asian Games to be held in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta in August after near misses in Guangzhou, China in 2010 and Incheon, South Korea in 2014.
Mirza, who became the first Emirati cyclist to compete in the Olympics road race in Rio in 2016, finished fourth on both occasions.
But having started a new lease of life with UAE Team Emirates professional cycling team, following his stint with the now disbanded Al Nasr Pro Cycling Team-Dubai, Mirza has stepped up his game several notches and is eyeing the big prize in Jakarta.
“The Asian Games is the main goal of the year,” Mirza said on the sidelines of the launch of the UAE Team Emirates Youth Academy, at Dubai Sports World, on Tuesday.
“I have been dreaming about this medal since 2010. In 2014, I was sure I would win and again missed out on it. So, this time I want to win,” he added.
The 29-year-old said that a gold in Jakarta could be the defining moment for the sport in the country. “I think that one medal can make a huge difference for the sport here in the UAE. Now, I can see how the federation and youth authority are backing the sport after my good result in the Asian Championship. In 2015, I was silver medalist and then to win gold this year, was special,” said Mirza.
Mirza has had a good run this season, so to speak. He began his season in January by competing in Argentina and the Dubai. He then headed off to Myanmar where he won gold in the road race on the Asian Tour. Mirza then won the track event in the Asian Championship in Malaysia in February this year, as well as the gold in the UAE National championship.
Having won gold in Malaysia, Mirza will have a target on his back in Jakarta, with a similar field set to compete. But he was quite confident of more than one medal.
“Having won in Malaysia, all the riders will be focusing on me. Inshallah, I will at least win one medal if not more,” he said.
Mirza will be competing in the road race as well as the Omnium in Jakarta and to that affect, preparations are on in full swing. And that schedule involves competing in the Japan Cup, a prep event for the Asian Games, a training camp in Italy and then competing in Holland.
“I did a lot of races this season and that has put me in a good shape to compete at the Asian level. I had a crash last week in Slovenia and I needed a bit of a time to recover from that. I started training just two days ago but will be in the best of shape for Japan Cup. Then I go for training in Italy with my UAE Team Emirates and then I do a tour in Holland. From there, I will fly straight to Indonesia for the Asian Games,” revealed Mirza.
james@khaleejtimes.com