Crash denies Shah Firdaus a podium finish in men's keirin


Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom.– Bernama

PETALING JAYA: Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom came within a whisker of finishing on the Olympic podium in the men's keirin final at the Saint-Quentinen-Yvelines Velodrome on Sunday (Aug 11).

The Johor-born cyclist was in sight of a podium heading into the final bend – in third spot – when he was taken out by Shinji Nakano of Japan in a crash.

Harrie Lavreysen of Holland achieved his dream to become a triple Olympic winner in Paris by romping to gold ahead of Australia's Matthew Richardson and Matthew Glaetzer.

Lavreysen defeated Richardson in the men's sprint event earlier this week.

It was still a superb race for Shah Firdaus, who is only the third Malaysian cyclist to ride in an Olympic final.

Josiah Ng was the first to achieve the feat in Athens in 2004 and it was Azizul who then took over from London 2012 to Tokyo 2021. Azizul took silver in Tokyo and bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Shah Firdaus was least expected to contend for the podium, with all eyes on two-time Olympic medallist and former world keirin champion Azizulhasni Awang expected to make a strong bid to win the nation's first gold medal.

However, the pressure shifted to Shah Firdaus after the illustrious Azizul got disqualified for overtaking the derny before it pulled out of the track in the first round heat of men's keirin on Saturday.

Shah Firdaus, however, put up a gallant charge to clear the quarter-finals and semis to raise hopes for Malaysia.

Though he missed out after finishing fourth in the second semi-final heat but was seen celebrating with both arms raised shortly after he was promoted to third after Japan's Kaiya Ota was relegated for an infringement.

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Cycling , Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom , Keirin , Crash

   

Next In Cycling

Motorcycling-Martin shows maturity and consistency to claim maiden MotoGP crown
Motorcycling-Martin edges out Bagnaia to land MotoGP world title
Riders with all the right stuff
Motorcycling-Bagnaia wins Solidarity GP sprint to stay in hunt for third MotoGP title
Motorcycling-Relaxed Martin ready for MotoGP finale
Motorcycling-Bagnaia says he will be happy for Martin if he takes his MotoGP crown
Azizul out for a ride for first time since Paris Olympics
Shah Firdaus relishes chance to compete with Olympic and world champions in TCL
Cycling- Briton Cavendish wins his final race in Singapore
Malaysia aim to host elite track cycling events, says Amarjit

Others Also Read