KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — The 2023 Asian Track Cycling Championships (ACC 2023) to be held at the National Velodrome in Nilai from June 14-19, has attracted more than 30 countries.
ACC Honorary Vice President Datuk Abu Samah Abd Wahab in a statement today said the response for the championships was very encouraging since only 22 countries participated in the 2018 championships hosted at the same venue.
Abu Samah, who is also the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) president, said the increased participation was because participants would be vying for merit points to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“As we are aware, track cycling is an Olympic sport that is very popular and draws a lot of attention from prominent cycling nations throughout the world, incuding Asia. Asian contries like Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Iran and Kazakstan are always producing world class cyclists who offer great competition in the Olympics.
“Malaysia are also in the same league with world powers because we have Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom. Since the dates for the competition in Nilai is within the dateline for qualifying to Paris, cyclists aspiring to qualify for the Olympics on merit will certainly participate in the ACC 2023,” he said.
Abu Samah also confirmed that Mohd Azizulhasni and Mohd Shah Firdaus will be taking part in the ACC 2023, and their participation would certainly attract riders from powerhouses like Japan, South Korea, Iran, Hong Kong and China.
Abu Samah who is also the Asean Cycling Association (ACA) President believes the dates and merit points offered for the Olympics by the International Cycling Union (UCI), will host the ACC 2023 as a premier cycling event this year.
Meanwhile, Abu Samah announced that he would be heading the MNCF’s Competition and Selection Committee, as per a decision made during the MNCF exco meeting in Melaka, yesterday.
He added that MNCF deputy president Mazlan Mohd Jail will head the Technical Committee while Vice President 1 Datuk Amarjit Singh takes charge as the Track Committee chairman.
Former Youth and Sports Minister who was recently elected as Vice President 5, was appointed as the chairman for the Marketing and Cycling for All committee, while vice president 2 Mohd Saiful Abdul Jalil heads the Mountain Bike committee.
“Norazman Abu Samah was appointed as the chairman of the Road Racing and World Cycling Centre committee) South Korea. Former Kuala Lumpur Cycling Association President (PLBKL) Ahmad Ariff Astaman and Omar Saad were appointed as MNCF Secretary-general and Treasurer, respectively,” he said. — Bernama
