Arnaz M. Khairul
arnaz@nstp.com.my
Arfy will have two months to prepare for the World Junior Track Championships in Moscow.
HAVING won the Malaysia Games keirin gold medal and boosted his home state Malacca's development programme with that, Arfy Qhairant Amran now has bigger fish to fry.
The 18-year-old Asian junior 200m sprint champion, who moved into the national elite squad's training base in Melbourne last week, leads the charge of the new breed of riders who form the nucleus of the 2016 Olympic programme.
As his first task, Arfy will have two months to prepare for the World Junior Track Championships in Moscow on Aug 17-21.
Having qualified by virtue of his Asian title, Arfy is expected to be joined by Selangor's Hamdan Hamidun in Moscow. Arfy will contest the 1km time trial, 200m sprint and keirin, while Hamdan will line up for the points and scratch races.
Arfy left for Melbourne last week along with Fattah Amri Zaid and Mohd Elmi Jumari, which hints of a new team sprint line-up under development.
National track team manager Datuk Naim Mohamad said the juniors will have a longer, more elaborate preparation to be ready for the 2016 Olympics qualifying procedure.
"But it is also up to them to prove that they can make the cut, as along the way the others in the Pelapis programme might also step up their game and will have to be given opportunities," said Naim.
"Arfy has shown potential and should be coming up with strong performances in the World Junior Championships.
"He has already had the experience last year, so this time he should know what to expect.
"He'll also be going to Moscow better prepared this time around, so we have hopes of a good outing, maybe even medals from both the riders."
Read more: Cycling: Arfy prepares for junior world stage http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/jkjed_kl/Article#ixzz1Qeki3O00
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