NILAI, Feb 18 — National women’s track cyclist, Fatehah Mustapa failed to proceed to the women’s elite sprint quarter-finals when she fell in the second qualifying round at the 2018 Asian Track Cycling Championships today.
The 29-year-old crashed out to Guo Yufang from China in the race held at the National Velodrome here.
The Terengganu-born, who bagged gold in the same event in 2013, acknowledged her own mistake for adopting wrong strategies in the qualifying round.
“I am disappointed because I could have won... I was not aware that she overtook me in the first lap. That was my mistake.
“I could not do anything (at that time) as she was way faster. (In fact,) there was no second chance in the sprint event qualifying round,” Fatehah told reporters here.
She said although luck was not on her side, she was optimistic that she would rise again in the keirin event.
“As for my target, I hope to get to the podium in the keirin event on Tuesday. There was no medal (contributed) last year, so I hope to display my best performance in front of fellow Malaysians since we are the host,” she said.
Fatehah also said Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan had been regarded as strong contenders for the event.
Yesterday, she won bronze in the women’s 500m time trial. — Bernama
