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Sunday November 22, 2009

Fatehah smashes national record at World Cup

By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Young cyclist Fatehah Mustapa finally showed her real potential when she smashed her national record en route to finishing an impressive eighth in the women’s 500m time trial on the final day of the Track World Cup in Melbourne yesterday.

Fatehah, a double bronze medal winner at the Asian Championships this year, dipped below 36 seconds for the first time, clocking 35.989. He previous record was 36.155, which she set in taking silver at the Asian Championships in Japan last year.

The 19-year-old Fatehah had made an early exit from the keirin after finishing third in the first round earlier in the day and her pace in the 500m time trial will be a boost to her efforts to make a big breakthrough at the Asian Games in Guangzhou next year.

Based on the latest results, the Terengganu-born cyclist is the third fastest Asian rider. China’s Lin Junhong, who clocked 34.781 yesterday and was ranked fourth, is the fastest Asian.

National coach John Beasley reckons that Fatehah is in with a big chance to become the first Malaysian female cyclist to deliver an Asian Games medal.

I will be there: Fatehah has started showing her true potential by smashing the 500m time trial on final day of the World Cup in Australia.

“She is definitely looking good for a medal if she keeps knocking down the times. But first, it’s the World Championships where I believe she stands a good chance to qualify and then we prepare for the Commonwealth and Asian Games,” said Beasley from Melbourne.

World Championships silver medallist Azizul Hasni Awang joined Josiah Ng in making it to the elimination rounds of the men’s 200m sprint for the first time this year but there were no joy for both of them as they failed to make it past the first round.

Josiah and Azizul pulled through with the 14th and 15th fastest times of 10.445 and 10.484 respectively in the qualifying rounds.

China’s Tang Qi was the third Asian rider to make it to the elimination rounds, taking the last available spot in 10.487.

However, Josiah was knocked out in the first round by British rider Matthew Crampton while Azizul also met the same fate against World Championships bronze medallist Kevin Sireau of France.

Azizul and Josiah had raised cheers when they bagged silver and bronze in the keirin event on Friday, marking it the first time two Malaysian cyclists rode in a World Cup final.

Azizul, in summing up his campaign in Melbourne, was glad to achieve his objective to finish with a medal but believed he should have grabbed the gold instead if his path was not blocked by Australia’s Shane Perkins. The Australian was later penalised and relegated to last place in the final won by German Carsten Bergeman.

“Entering the final, I had won my second round heat racing against the likes of Perkins and I was confident of my form to defend the title I won here last year,” he said.

“But the Australian blocked me and there was not much room for me to go in front until the last moments. Anyway, I’m happy with what I got.”

In the men’s madison, the Malaysian pair of Adiq Husainie Othman-Rusli Amir failed to finish the race and was placed last in the field of 16 finalists.

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