PUTRAJAYA: The national women’s track cycling sprint team are at the top of the waiting list for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will be held from July 26 to Aug 11.
National Sports Council (NSC) deputy director-general (Sports Development) Jefri Ngadirin said the team will get the chance to compete in Paris if one of the qualified nations pull out from the quadrennial Games.
‘We learnt from (national cycling head coach) John Beasley that the women’s sprint team are ranked ninth in the Olympics and 11th in the world, making them the first reserve team to the Paris Olympics.
“John also suggested that the women’s sprint team be included in the Fast Track programme under the Road to Gold (RTG) initiative since they are now ranked 11th in the world,” he told reporters at the closing ceremony of the 2028 Los Angeles Project Workshop here today.
The national women’s sprint team comprise Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri, Nurul Aliana Syafika Azizan and Anis Amira Rosidi.
Nurul Izzah has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the individual keirin and sprint events and so have two national men’s track cyclists - Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom.
Meanwhile, Jefri said they are still waiting for the RTG committee meeting to approve the proposal to include Nurul Izzah in the Fast Track programme.
Commenting on the 2028 LA Special Project, Jefri said it is an initiative under the Fast Track programme which will pay more attention to improving athletes’ weaknesses ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“Each athlete in the special project marked for fast track has this component (of weakness) which their coaches have pointed out and we will focus on helping them to improve.
“For example, for (Nurul) Izzah in the keirin event, we want to help her increase her muscle mass and power,” he said, adding that they hope to help her achieve world-class standards by 2028.
Earlier, Beasley, Malaysia Swimming (MAS) technical director (diving) Bryan Nickson Lomas and Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) coaching director Major (Rtd) S. Maniam attended the workshop to present programmes prepared for their athletes.
So far, six national athletes have been listed in the Fast Track Programme, namely divers Bertrand Rhodict Lises and Enrique Maccartney Harold and squash players Ng Eain Yow, S. Sivasangari, Aifa Azman and Aira Azman.
