KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — The Youth and Sports Ministry feels that the time has come for Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom to become the country's main hope in track cycling and shine in future competitions.
Its minister Hannah Yeoh is confident that Firdaus has what it takes to take over the responsibility from Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang as the country's number one track cyclist.
"The time has come, Shah Firdaus. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, we saw when Shah Firdaus was needed (in the keirin event) to receive the mandate from Malaysia… he did it (by qualifying for the final).
"I am extremely pleased to see Shah Firdaus is now at his peak. I am confident Shah Firdaus can be the next big hope of Malaysia in track cycling,” she said after officiating the 2025 Asean Sports ADR Forum at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) today.
Also present were the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, Sports Commissioner Suhardi Alias, and AIAC chief executive officer Datuk Almalena Sharmila Johan.
Yeoh added that she is also proud of Firdaus’ achievement in bagging the gold medal in the keirin event at the UCI Nations Cup in Konya, Turkiye yesterday, as well as pleased with the performance of national woman track cyclist Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri.
"So, I want to encourage Shah Firdaus and Izzah Izzati to continue striving because coach John Beasley has provided a positive report of their potential, and these two riders are now in the Road to Gold programme,” she said.
In yesterday's race, Firdaus produced a spirited performance to break away from four other riders before overtaking his rivals just metres before the finish line at the Konya Velodrome.
That is the first gold medal won by Firdaus, nicknamed the 'Terminator Shah’, at a UCI event, marking the biggest achievement of his career so far.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic team sprint event bronze medallist Sebastien Vigier of France bagged the silver, while 2025 Asian Track Cycling Championship (ATC) keirin champion Shinji Nakano of Japan took home the bronze.
Meanwhile, Izzah set a new national record in the sprint event, clocking 10.578s in Konya, surpassing her previous mark of 10.658s she set at ATC 2025 at the National Velodrome in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan last month.
— Bernama
