KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 — National cyclists Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, Fatehah Mustapa and Jupha Somnet will have opportunities to earn their tickets to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil when they compete in three international cycling events from this month to March.
Malaysian National Cycling Federation deputy president Datuk Naim Mohamad said the three important tournaments are the Hong Kong World Cup Classic from January 16-17, Asian Cycling Confederation championships in Japan from January 26-30 and UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London from March 2-6.
“They can still collect points to qualify for the Olympics,” he told reporters after presenting prizes to winners in the National Cycling Championships at the Cheras Velodrome here today.
Mohd Azizulhasni, also known as “The Pocketrocketman”, had taken part in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics, finishing eighth on both occasions while finishing fifth in the keirin at the 2012 London Olympics.
Meanwhile, Naim said he would hold a meeting with the developer of the Cheras Velodrome to delay work on the velodrome until June.
The velodrome will be demolished for development and a new velodrome built in Nilai, but only expected to be completed in July.
“Since we have a number of competitions to host, we will seek the cooperation of the developer to delay the demolition work to allow our cyclist to continue their training and preparations until the Nilai Velodrome is completed,” he said.
Malaysia are hoping to win a first ever gold medal in the Olympics after coming close on one or two occasions in badminton. — Bernama
