Eyes on the frame
Their recent resurgence – highlighted by a solid performance at the Asian 6-Red Snooker Championships in Colombo, Sri Lanka last week, has raised hopes that they can challenge Thailand's dominance.
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New Straits Times
2 days ago
- New Straits Times
Track trio to do battle for Sea Games keirin slot
KUALA LUMPUR: A keirin spot at the Sea Games will be at stake for national riders when they compete at the Track Asia Cup in Suphanburi, Thailand next week (Aug 28-30). National track cycling team head coach Harnizam Basri said he will be selecting the second rider for the keirin, who will race alongside Shah Firdaus Sahrom at the Thailand Sea Games (Dec 9-20), based on their performances at the Asia Cup. The squad will leave for the Asia Cup, which is a UCI class one event, on Monday (Aug 25). Harnizam, however, confirmed that top riders Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Izzah Izzati Asri will not be competing at the Asia Cup. "We have decided not to send Shah and Izzah as we want them to focus on preparations for the Santiago World Championships (Oct 22-26)," said Harnizam when contacted today (Aug 19). "We will be sending Fadhil Zonis, Ridwan Sahrom and Akmal Jusena for the Asia Cup. "They will compete in the men's team sprint, keirin as well as the individual sprint events. "We will be choosing the second rider for the Sea Games keirin based on their performances at the Asia Cup, so they will have to compete with each other for that slot. It has to be earned on merit. "For the women's team we have selected Anis Amira Rosidi, Aliana Azizan and Alyssa Farid and they will compete in the same events as the men's in Suphanburi. "We want to gauge our performances in both the men's and women's team sprint events, especially as our men's team will be competing in the team sprint event at the Sea Games. "It will also be Aliana's first international competition since coming back. She has been doing well in training." Aliana spent months recovering after suffering a fractured rib and concussion after crashing in a local race in October last year. Shah has also been on the comeback trail as he has been battling tendonitis in his right knee since February but has shown improvement in recent months. The men's keirin and men's team sprint are the only sprint discipline events that have been included for the Thailand Sea Games this year.
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- New Straits Times
Time for experienced athletes to deliver, says NSC DG
KUALA LUMPUR: The National Sports Council (NSC) has confirmed that Malaysia will be sending its top athletes to the Thailand Sea Games (Dec 9-20). The biennial games has in the past been used as a platform to give young athletes exposure at the international level, that, however, will not be the case this time said NSC director-general Jefri Ngadirin. Malaysia is expected to send a contingent of roughly 900 athletes to compete in 50 sports in Thailand. "Many of the athletes we had targeted (for the games) have met the category A criteria. I believe we are in a good position to be competitive at the Sea Games," said Jefri recently. "The Sea Games this time is not about providing competitive exposure to new athletes. The athletes selected have all earned their place in the contingent on merit. "It is true what Tan Sri Norza Zakaria has said. (Younger) athletes who competed in Hanoi and Phnom Penh have now qualified under category A and it is time for them to win medals at the Sea Games (this year) before we host the 2027 Malaysia Sea Games." Earlier this week, Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria said the focus for the 2027 games is on "performance" as athletes given exposure during the 2021 Hanoi and 2023 Phnom Penh games have now "matured". Athletes must achieve a score or time that equals or betters the top-three finishers from the previous edition of the Sea Games to qualify for category A. Category A athlete's competition costs - not to be confused with preparation costs - are borne by the government. Category B athletes, who have to meet top-six times or scores from the previous games, pay out of their own pockets to compete at the games but will be reimbursed if they win a medal. The decision to send top athletes makes sense as Malaysia suffered its worst-ever performance in the history of the games during the 2023 Phnom Penh edition when the national contingent failed to achieve the 40-gold target set for them and finished a lowly seventh overall on 34 gold, 45 silver and 96 bronzes. The national bodies of sports such as badminton and cycling have already made it clear they will be sending their 'A teams' to the games, which was not always the case in the past. Malaysia is expected to win more gold medals this time as a number of favoured sports such as track cycling, tenpin bowling, squash and waterskiing have been reincluded this year.
The Star
13-08-2025
- The Star
Malaysia set to send strongest track cycling squad for SEA Games
Onwards to glory: Injured but determined Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom hopes to land on the podium at the Asian Track Cycling Championships starting in Nilai on Friday. PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian National Cycling Federation of Malaysia (MNCF) will send their strongest track cycling squad, led by Track Nation Cup keirin champion Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom, for the Thailand SEA Games in December. MNCF finally breathed a sigh of relief when they received approval to send 28 national cyclists under category A to compete in the SEA Games. The decision was reached after the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) selection meeting saw the national road cycling team obtain additional funds to compete in the Thailand SEA Games. MNCF secretary Ahmad Arif Astaman said they were grateful for the approval of the justification presented on putting all except three cyclists under category A. "We will send national cyclists to compete in all four disciplines - road, track, BMX and mountain bike," said Ahmad. "MNCF will also commit the strongest team for the track cycling events. Track cycling is rarely held at the SEA Games and the current batch of cyclists have never had the chance to compete before, so we will give them the opportunity to stand on the podium. "Malaysia will be chasing for gold medals in especially the road and track cycling disciplines. "We are grateful for the support shown by the National Sports Council (NSC) and OCM. "It's also due to the close cooperation with NSC and OCM who understand our needs at the SEA Games. "This (putting under category A) will boost the confidence of the cyclists to perform their best and bring glory to the country.'' Malaysia should dominate the men's track cycling competition, which takes place at the outdoor Hua Mak Velodrome in Bangkok. Thailand have four events for men (team sprint, keirin, team pursuit and points race) while the scratch race is the event for the women. Malaysia emerged overall champions with 13 golds the last time track cycling was contested at the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur. The national road cycling team, with support from Terengganu Cycling Team and MPC's predecessor Team Sapura Cycling, have consistently delivered gold for Malaysia at the SEA Games over the past decade. Malaysia have won six gold medals in men's road cycling over the last five editions of the SEA Games.
