Pedal First, Think Gold Later

NILAI: National track cycling ace Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom has chosen not to dwell too much on the mission to chase the gold medal at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, instead wanting to focus on getting past each round first before planning his strategy on the final stage.

According to the Birmingham 2022 keirin bronze medallist, the route in Glasgow this time is far more challenging as the sprint and keirin events will bring together most of the world’s best riders from Commonwealth countries.

“This is indeed my job. I train to race, and when the race comes, this is my responsibility, so I just want to enjoy training and racing without putting pressure on myself.

“For the Commonwealth Games, most of the world’s best riders are there, including the world number one and many more in the top 10.

“So I need to think one step at a time, qualify for the next round first before thinking about strategies to win in the final,” he told reporters after a visit by the Commonwealth Games Chef de Mission, Datuk Awalan Abdul Aziz, at the National Velodrome in Nilai yesterday.

Shah also acknowledged that his physical condition is improving after undergoing knee surgery and has now returned to full training ahead of the Games, which will run from 23 July to 2 August.

“Alhamdulillah, my condition is improving. The pain after surgery has also reduced significantly, and I can now train as usual. However, we still need to control the training load so as not to overstrain the knee.

“The MRI scan results also showed that the major injury has fully healed, but there are still remnants from the surgery that cause slight pain if overused. Nevertheless, everything is in good condition so far,” he said.

Shah is expected to be the country’s main hope alongside Datuk Azizulhasni Awang in the keirin and individual sprint events, with both set to face stiff challenges from defending Australian sprint champion Matthew Richardson, as well as England riders Joe Truman and Hamish Turnbull, and the 2022 keirin champion from Trinidad and Tobago, Nicholas Paul.

For the record, Shah won the keirin bronze medal at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, in addition to winning keirin and sprint bronzes at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.

Utusan Malaysia