Saturday June 4, 2011
By LIM TEIK HUAT
KUALA LUMPUR: Exciting confrontations between the proven internationals and the eager-beaver rookies makes the track cycling competition starting at the Cheras Velodrome here today the keenest in the history of Sukma (Malaysia Games).
And this will be the first time in 21 years that the track cycling competition will be held at a velodrome instead of on the road.
Track cycling offers 16 gold medals – in the sprint and endurance disciplines.
Four gold medals will be handed out today in the team pursuit and scratch races for men and women.
So stiff is the men’s competition that Muhd Arfy Qhairant Amran, winner of one gold and two silver medals at the Asian Junior Championships in Korat in February, is not assured of victory in the sprint event.
The 18-year-old from Malacca can expect a tough time from his team-mates in the national back-up squad like Kedah’s Mohd Fattah Amri Zaid, Johor’s Fakhruddin Daud and Selangor’s Mohd Elmi Jumari.
The women’s competition could well see Thai-Malay rider Jupha Somnet making history for Perlis by winning the state’s first ever cycling gold medal in Sukma.
Jupha has proved her mettle with outstanding performances, winning multiple medals at the last two editions of the Asian Junior Championships.
But the 18-year-old has been unable to assert herself at the Sukma level due to the presence of Fatehah Mustapa.
Fatehah is no longer eligible to represent Terengganu this time and it is up to Jupha to step up to the plate.
But Jupha will have to be wary of two 16-year-olds – Lauretta Eva Adrian of Sabah and Ummi Hamimah of Terengganu. Jupha snatched the sprint title from Lauretta but it was the Sabahan who came out tops in the keirin final at the Kuala Lumpur Open last week.
Jupha will also have to contend with Ummi after suffering an unexpected defeat at the SportExcel Circuit last month.
Ummi is from Dungun, the same town that produced Azizulhasni Awang, and will fancy her chances of winning her first national title.
No comments:
Post a Comment