KUALA LUMPUR: While all eyes will be on Azizulhasni Awang in the track cycling events, his teammate Shah Firdaus Sahrom is equally determined to make the nation proud at the ongoing Paris Olympics.
Shah made his Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games three years ago and despite suffering a heavy crash in the first round, he was still able to reach the quarter-finals in the men’s keirin.
The 28-year-old is aiming to reach the final this time.
“I hope to make it to the keirin final. To do that, I have to focus first on each round and do my best not to make any small mistakes,” Shah said yesterday.
“The fact that the focus is more on Datuk Azizulhasni is in some ways an advantage for me (because of the less pressure).
“However, this is the biggest competition (in the world) and the entire nation has high expectations from all the (Malaysian) athletes competing.
“Insya-Allah, I will do my best.”
Shah has been tipped as a potential medallist in Paris.
Since Tokyo, she won bronze in keirin at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and also claimed two bronzes (keirin, individual sprint) at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.
Shah, Azizulhasni and Izzah Izzati Asri are currently in a final training camp in Mallorca, Spain, under the technical direction of national track cycling program director John Beasley.
They have begun their preparation for the Olympic Games.
“My body is in good condition and the focus now is to get enough rest before the competition,” Shah said.
They will leave for Paris on Thursday (August 1).
The men’s individual sprint event will start on August 7, while the keirin will begin on August 10. The track cycling events will take place at the Velodrome de Saint Quentin en Yvelines.
