WATCH petite cyclist Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri make a strong assault at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Australian coach John Beasley believed the 20-year-old from Sungai Petani has what it takes to become a realistic medal contender at the next Games in the United States.
Izzah made her Olympics debut in Paris this week and did well to smash her own 200m flying lap national record by almost two tenths of a second (10.709 seconds) in the sprint qualification round.
It was at the Asian Championships in Nilai in June last year where she clocked 10.903s to wipe off Fatehah Mustapa’s long standing national mark of 10.943s, which the former Olympian set back in 2013 in the Track World Cup in Aguscalientes, Mexico.
The diminutive Izzah, who only stands at 1.52m, might not have been able to get past the first round in both the women’s individual sprint and keirin but Beasley stressed she has all the makings of a future Olympic medallist.
Izzah was the third fastest Asian in the women’s individual sprint qualifying round in Paris behind Japanese duo Mina Sato (10.257s) and Riyu Ohta (10.659s), which augurs well for the Nagoya Asian Games in 2026.
“I am extremely happy with Izzah’s performances. Fatehah set the old record in Mexico at high altitude while this was set at sea level by a very young and new athlete,” said Beasley.
“Izzah has come a very long way from the young girl that joined our programme about 18 months ago.
“She had made really good progress with us during the training camp, changing her nutritional habits and also spent a lot of time going through video (analysis) sessions, which has helped her a lot.
“Datuk Azizulhasni Awang has also been great to have around as he has helped lead Izzah, which is invaluable.”
Beasley has coached Azizul since he was a teenager and is now making his fifth Olympic appearance for Malaysia.
Azizul has managed to win seven world championship medals, including the 2017 keirin world title, as well as two Olympic medals at Rio de Janeiro 2016 (bronze) and Tokyo 2021 (silver).
With an eye for talent, the Australian coach is optimistic Izzah can also bloom into a serious contender at the world level.
Izzah already has three Asian championship gold medals and the Asian Games team sprint bronze medal under her belt.
“She has grown before my eyes, Izzah will be ready come LA 2028. Just be patient and it will be worth the wait,” said Beasley.
“Give her some more time to grow into an athlete’s body, she is half way there.
“Let her have about 100 races under her belt to allow her to learn what to do and how to react in race situations.
“She was great at her first Olympic Games.”
