NILAI, May 4 — The country’s top women’s track cycling star Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri continued to flaunt her stripes with a second gold medal in the keirin event at the Asean Track Series at the National Velodrome tonight.
Izzah, who is on course to make her debut at the Olympic Games in Paris come July, shut out the rest of the field to win the final by overcoming the challenges of her compatriots Yong Ann Tung, who ended in second place and Nurul Aliana Syafika Azizan in third for medal honours under the President’s Cup II race.
It was the second keirin gold won by the 20-year-old cyclist after also bagging two gold medals in the same sprint and keirin events for President’s Cup I medals yesterday.
“I am happy again to win gold today in a more intense race than yesterday, but overall my performance was better today,” she told the press after the event.
The men’s and women’s sprint events for the elite category were not contested today.
In February, Izzah created a sensation after emerging as the keirin champion at the Asian Track Cycling Championships (ACC) in India before recently qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games officially.
She will accompany national track cycling champion Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and another national rider, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom, both of whom have also officially qualified for Paris.
Meanwhile, Firdaus failed to take advantage of Azizulhasni’s absence today when he only managed to take home the silver medal in the keirin final which saw him lose to his younger brother Muhammad Ridwan, while third place went to national rider Ahmad Safwan Ahmad Nazeri.
For Ridwan, the success of bringing the gold home and beating his brother on the competitive stage was very important to fuel his motivation.
“I did not expect to win today because there are Shah Firdaus, Sam (Australian rider Sam Gallagher) and other riders, including from Indonesia, who gave stiff competition, but I went flat out because all I know is I wanted to be the first to reach the finish line.
“For me, this success is very important to rekindle my spirit for the next race; I want to win because I have not won in a long time… winning the individual keirin is my best achievement. I am grateful,” said the 23-year-old.
Azizulhasni, Firdaus, and Izzah will leave for Japan on Monday (May 6) to participate in the Japan Track Cup series cycling tournament next week as part of their preparations before competing in Paris.
— Bernama
