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KUALA LUMPUR – The focus of the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) is now on saddling up track cyclist Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom as the country’s hope at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games from July 28 to August 8.
Mohd Shah is regarded as the prime backup in the absence of national champion Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang.
In fact, MNCF president Datuk Abu Samah Abd Wahab described the potential possessed by Mohd Shah as not far off from Mohd Azizulhasni who has won bronze and silver medals at the Olympics.
Therefore, he said MNCF will focus on streamlining and polishing up the ability of the 25-year-old rider.
“Firdaus is also a great achiever, he is only a little different from Azizulhasni, if we focus on honing his calibre from now on, he can fill in a bigger role, he just needs to pack in a little more preparation before the competition,” he said when met by Bernama recently.
“I do not dare to set a high target for Firdaus but if he can reach the final, it means he is one of the finest and is not far behind Azizulhasni,” he said.
Abu Samah, who is also president of the ASEAN Cycling Association (ACA), said apart from Shah Firdaus, the team also harboured high hopes on Muhammad Fadhil Mohd Zonis who is the national and Asian record-holder of the 1-km time trial.
Meanwhile, team manager for the Commonwealth Games, Yunus Ibrahim, informed that Azizulhasni, who is on a recovery curve after undergoing surgery, needed a longer period before returning to the saddle for the gold hunt at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Azizul (Mohd Azizulhasni) does not know how to sit still, he is always on the move, so we asked him to slow down and rest, but seeing his condition, it is too late for him to start training,” he said.
Mohd Azizulhasni was previously reported to have undergone corrective heart surgery for anomalous aortic origin where the right coronary artery drains from the aorta in an awkward position (AAORCA), at Epworth Richmond Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.
Meanwhile, Mohd Shah Firdaus said that he and his coach John Beasley are still considering his entry for the 2023 Asian Track Cycling Championship (ATCC) in New Delhi, India, from June 18-22.
The Muar-born athlete said one of his considerations was to avoid any trip-ups before prime-time in the Commonwealth Games.
“Before this, I had suffered food poisoning in India so we want to avoid anything untoward from happening. Maybe I will go to ATCC too, but I will have to be more careful,” he said.
For the record, Mohd Shah Firdaus won two gold medals at the National Track Cycling Championship at the National Velodrome in Nilai recently. – Bernama, June 1, 2022