The Malaysian cast
Men: Azizulhasni Awang (sprint, keirin); Josiah Ng (keirin); Malex McCrone, Mohd Arfy Qhairant Amran, Mohd Fattah Amri Zaid (team sprint); Hariff Salleh (scratch); Mohd Edros Yunos (sprint, keirin, 1km time trial).
Women: Fatehah Mustapa (sprint, keirin).
PETALING JAYA: Germany, Britain and France will be locking horns with hosts Australia for the prized medals at the World Track Championships in Melbourne but an equally interesting battle will be played out in the Malaysian cycling camp as well.
Off they go: Mohd Arfy Qhairant Amran will combine with Mohd Fattah Amri Zaid and Malex McCrone in today’s team sprint qualification rounds. The competition begins today with back-up riders Mohd Arfy Qhairant Amran, Mohd Fattah Amri Zaid and Malex McCrone lining up for the team sprint qualification rounds while Asian Championships bronze medallist Hariff Salleh competes in the scratch race.
But it is on Sunday – the final day of competition – that the tussle between Azizulhasni Awang and Josiah Ng will come to a boil at the Hisense Arena when the keirin event is held.
The tough ruling for the London Olympics only permits one rider per country to contest the individual disciplines and coach John Beasley will eventually have to decide who will get to ride the keirin come July.
Malaysia are already assured of a quota spot in the keirin for the Olympics as they are the top ranked Asian country.
Only the top two Asian countries can qualify for the Olympics. But the problem for Malaysia, albeit a good one, is that they have two of the best keirin riders from the continent and it is how they perform in Melbourne that will carry the most weight.
Josiah claimed a historic Commonwealth Games gold medal for Malaysia in New Delhi in 2010 after Azizul, who crossed the line first, was relegated for dangerous riding.
But Azizul proved his point two months later at the Asian Games in Guangzhou when he ended a 40-year gold medal drought by leading Josiah to a 1-2 sweep.
Josiah then showed that he too is still very much in contention by bursting ahead of Azizul to claim his first career Asian Championships gold medal in February.
The evergreen Josiah also made the World Cup final in Kazakhstan last November and that performance has put him in good stead, with the Olympics around the corner.
To be fair to Azizul, he is still not back at his best after returning from a lay-off due to the horrific calf injury he suffered early last year, forcing him out of last year’s world meet in Holland.
But the one thing not to be discounted is Azizul’s impressive record at the world meet and his fighting qualities.
Azizul came close twice to pulling off the biggest upsets in world championships track cycling.
The towering black Frenchman Gregory Bauge can attest to that, calling Azizul a wily rival as he needed a third deciding heat to beat the pint-sized Malaysian to claim the sprint gold at the 2009 edition in Poland.
Azizul proved the silver was no fluke by claiming another the following year in Copenhagen – this time in the keirin after the heartbreak of losing by the tip of the wheel to four-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy of Britain.
Azizul has a shot at winning a third world championships medal but Beasley is more concerned about getting the riders to peak at the Olympics.
“That is the bigger priority as we want to achieve something at the Olympics,” said Beasley.
“I will be delighted if one of them gets a medal at the world meet as it’s the first main event we are focusing on.
“But I will be just as happy if one of them makes the final.
“The world championship is the best place because we can see how they perform against the best riders in the field, so we’ll see how they fare.”
THE STAR
Men: Azizulhasni Awang (sprint, keirin); Josiah Ng (keirin); Malex McCrone, Mohd Arfy Qhairant Amran, Mohd Fattah Amri Zaid (team sprint); Hariff Salleh (scratch); Mohd Edros Yunos (sprint, keirin, 1km time trial).
Women: Fatehah Mustapa (sprint, keirin).
PETALING JAYA: Germany, Britain and France will be locking horns with hosts Australia for the prized medals at the World Track Championships in Melbourne but an equally interesting battle will be played out in the Malaysian cycling camp as well.
Off they go: Mohd Arfy Qhairant Amran will combine with Mohd Fattah Amri Zaid and Malex McCrone in today’s team sprint qualification rounds.But it is on Sunday – the final day of competition – that the tussle between Azizulhasni Awang and Josiah Ng will come to a boil at the Hisense Arena when the keirin event is held.
The tough ruling for the London Olympics only permits one rider per country to contest the individual disciplines and coach John Beasley will eventually have to decide who will get to ride the keirin come July.
Malaysia are already assured of a quota spot in the keirin for the Olympics as they are the top ranked Asian country.
Only the top two Asian countries can qualify for the Olympics. But the problem for Malaysia, albeit a good one, is that they have two of the best keirin riders from the continent and it is how they perform in Melbourne that will carry the most weight.
Josiah claimed a historic Commonwealth Games gold medal for Malaysia in New Delhi in 2010 after Azizul, who crossed the line first, was relegated for dangerous riding.
But Azizul proved his point two months later at the Asian Games in Guangzhou when he ended a 40-year gold medal drought by leading Josiah to a 1-2 sweep.
Josiah then showed that he too is still very much in contention by bursting ahead of Azizul to claim his first career Asian Championships gold medal in February.
The evergreen Josiah also made the World Cup final in Kazakhstan last November and that performance has put him in good stead, with the Olympics around the corner.
To be fair to Azizul, he is still not back at his best after returning from a lay-off due to the horrific calf injury he suffered early last year, forcing him out of last year’s world meet in Holland.
But the one thing not to be discounted is Azizul’s impressive record at the world meet and his fighting qualities.
Azizul came close twice to pulling off the biggest upsets in world championships track cycling.
The towering black Frenchman Gregory Bauge can attest to that, calling Azizul a wily rival as he needed a third deciding heat to beat the pint-sized Malaysian to claim the sprint gold at the 2009 edition in Poland.
Azizul proved the silver was no fluke by claiming another the following year in Copenhagen – this time in the keirin after the heartbreak of losing by the tip of the wheel to four-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy of Britain.
Azizul has a shot at winning a third world championships medal but Beasley is more concerned about getting the riders to peak at the Olympics.
“That is the bigger priority as we want to achieve something at the Olympics,” said Beasley.
“I will be delighted if one of them gets a medal at the world meet as it’s the first main event we are focusing on.
“But I will be just as happy if one of them makes the final.
“The world championship is the best place because we can see how they perform against the best riders in the field, so we’ll see how they fare.”
THE STAR
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