Beasley believes his riders will deliver at Olympics

KUALA LUMPUR: None of the elite national cyclists were anywhere near a podium finish at the World Track Championships in Melbourne but national coach John Beasley is not writing off their chances at the London Olympics.

In fact, Beasley is happy with their performance level and believes Olympic-bound Azizulhasni Awang, Josiah Ng and Fatehah Mustapa will deliver come July.
Azizul clocked his second fastest time of 10.193 seconds in the 200m sprint but missed out on the elimination rounds. He, however, reached the semi-finals in keirin.

Josiah also had high hopes of shining in the keirin after winning a career-first Asian Championships gold medal in Kuala Lumpur in February. Unfortunately, he did not advance after being drawn in a tough first round heat with world champion Shane Perkins of Australia and Guangzhou Asian Games sprint gold medallist Zhang Miao of China.

Fatehah also suffered a similar fate as she had Olympic champion Victoria Pendleton of Britain and Simona Krupeckaite of Lithuania for company in her semi-final heat and finished fourth to just miss out on the final.
The consolation was she sealed a quota slot for the country in keirin, making her the first Malaysian woman cyclist to ride at the Olympics.

Azizul is confirmed for the sprint in London as he was the one who contributed the points towards the quota slot over the past two years. But he will find it tough making an impact in a discipline where speed and power give the Europeans the advantage.

The keirin is where Malaysia have a better chance as good race craft and the right strategy could result in a historic medal.

Beasley is convinced the rider chosen for the men’s keirin, which is very likely to be Azizul, is definitely not going to just make up the numbers at the Olympics.

“I’m not going to name the rider just yet as the Olympics are four months away.
“The team are in good shape and where I expect them to be. A medal at the Olympics is very possible but there is still much to do.

“I’m happy where Azizul’s level is at the moment. Don’t forget he was off the bike for a long time due to the unfortunate injury he suffered early last year,” said Beasley.

As for Fatehah, the Australian is also not discounting her ability to spring a surprise.
“She is closing the gap on the others and it is more of a mental thing for her now. She has got to believe she is as good as the others.

“If we can get things right in training when we go to Europe, she should be in a position to make the Olympic final,” said Beasley.

The cyclists will return home for a short break before setting up camp in Belgium for the last phase of training for the Olympics.



THE STAR