BIRMINGHAM, Aug 3 — National track cyclist coach John Beasley believes that the floodgates are now open for Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom to go the distance at the world stage after securing the men’s keirin bronze medal at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, here, last Saturday.
Beasley pointed out that such a performance from Shah Firdaus, who was back at ’90 per cent best’ in the event held at the Lee Valley VeloPark, London, had been a long time coming and this would be a turning point for the Johor-born cyclist to blaze the track in upcoming tournaments or multi-sports events.
“Shah Firdaus is really talented though he does not always back himself; he just needed a performance like this to believe in himself.
“I believe that we will get to see the real Shah Firdaus and what he is capable of achieving on the velodrome next,” he told Bernama.
Shah Firdaus is a saviour to the national track cycling camp after he delivered the sport’s only medal at the Games for Malaysia while the other five cyclists returned home empty-handed.
Should Shah Firdaus did not suffer from Covid-19 last June during the Asian Track Cycling Championships in New Delhi, India, Beasley felt that the 27-year-old, who clinched the men’s keirin silver there would have ridden much faster in London.
“Shah Firdaus rode all things considered, he was in great shape heading to India and posted his best lap time ever in the team sprint event, the next day raced really well to win the silver in the keirin, then was down with Covid-19 so he could not ride in the sprint.
“He would have won the sprint easily but Covid-19 robbed him of that opportunity, then he could not train for a couple of weeks and that gave us just two weeks of training before we flew out to the Commonwealth Games, so he did exceptionally well,” said Beasley.
He is also proud of the performance of the two men’s cyclists — Muhammad Fadhil Mohd Zonis and Muhammad Ridwan Sahrom — and three women’s cyclists — Anis Amira Rosidi, Nurul Aliana Syafika Azizan and Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri — here.
Despite struggling to shine at the Games, Beasley said all of these young cyclists were so talented and reminded Malaysian sports fans to be more patient on their development.
He added he is also confident that they are not far off from building a new-look young team that needs time to develop both physically and mentally.
“Remember, it took Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and Mohd Rizal Tisin a couple of years before they started to perform at the world stage against the best in the world, so please Malaysia, give them the time to mature,” he said.
— Bernama
