Track to gold for Malaysian cycling at Thailand SEA Games seems less glittering

The Star

5 days ago

National track cyclist Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sharom showing their Bronze medal after winning the Men Elite Sprint Final at the Asian Track Championship 2025 at the National Velodrome in Nilai, Negri Sembilan.— MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's eight-year wait for track cycling to return to the SEA Games looks set to end in disappointment, with three gold medal-winning events likely to be excluded from the meet in Thailand this December.
The three events that are at risk of being scrapped are the keirin, team sprint, and team pursuit.
Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) president Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill said they were informed earlier this month by the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) that the events may be dropped due to poor response from participating nations.
He said MNCF immediately contacted countries like Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines in an effort to persuade them to send riders, as a minimum of four countries is required for an event to be held.
However, the final decision lies with the respective governments, which are bound by budget constraints and tend to prioritise athletes with stronger medal prospects.
With the lack of entries in these three events, they are likely to be replaced by the men's omnium, women's omnium, and men's scratch race.
"Track events set to return at this SEA Games include the men's team pursuit, men's team sprint, and men's keirin. However, when countries submitted their entries by numbers, there were not enough participants for these events.
"For instance, Singapore are not sending any athletes for the keirin, while Indonesia are focusing on endurance rather than sprint events. This makes it difficult to meet the minimum participation requirements.
"Due to this, there are now plans to revise the event schedule. If there aren't enough entries, the events cannot be held. So, there is a strong possibility that the keirin may be dropped from the SEA Games, but this has yet to be confirmed," said Amarjit.
However, a final decision on whether the three events will be scrapped or reinstated will only be known when all participating countries meet with the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) next month.
Malaysia have long been a powerhouse in all three events, which were last contested when Kuala Lumpur hosted the Games in 2017.
Back then, the national squad dominated the track, sweeping 11 of the 13 gold medals on offer. Unfortunately, track cycling was excluded from the next three editions in Manila, Hanoi and Phnom Penh.
At the same time, MNCF are considering a realistic medal target for the upcoming SEA Games in Thailand this December to match their performance at the Games in Cambodia two years ago.
At that event, Malaysia successfully defended the gold medal in the road race through Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki, while also securing two silver and two bronze medals.
'Our target is to maintain or improve on the results from the last SEA Games. That should be our benchmark, and we should not aim lower than that,' added Amarjit.