MALAYSIAN women’s track cyclist Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri is in the best form to win a medal for Malaysia in the individual sprint event after setting a new national record for the event when she recorded a time of 10.685 seconds (s) in the qualifying round of the 2025 Asian Track Cycling Championships (ATC) at the National Velodrome here today.
Her time, surpassing her own national record of 10.709s which was set at the 2024 Paris Olympics, saw her finish third in the individual sprint qualification to qualify for the quarter-finals of the event.
In the quarter-finals of the individual sprint event today, the Kedah native had no problem beating compatriot Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid 2-0 to advance to the semi-finals against China’s Guo Yu Fang who defeated Hong Kong’s Yeong Cho Yiu 2-0.
“I didn’t expect to be able to break my national record because previously I was struggling a little with my performance during the President’s Cup.
“I’m really proud of my performance and it’s for me to be confident for tomorrow’s race. I am optimistic that I will be able to contribute medals in the individual sprint event tomorrow,“ she said when met by reporters here today.
This is the second time Nurul Izzah Izzati has broken the national record at ATC 2025 after helping the women’s sprint team yesterday smash the national record and win a silver medal after losing to China.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian team officially won a medal in the men’s individual sprint event after siblings, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom and his younger brother Muhammad Ridwan Sahrom defeated their opponents in the quarter-finals.
Muhammad Shah Firdaus advanced after defeating Thailand’s Jai Angsuthasawit 2-1 and will meet Japan’s Kaiya Ota who defeated India’s David Beckham Elkathchoongo 2-0.
As for Muhammad Ridwan, he managed to qualify for the semi-finals after defeating China’s Liu Qi 2-1 and will meet Shinji Nakano of Japan who advanced after beating Kang Shih Feng.
In the same development, the national youth squad continued to excel in contributing medals for Malaysia when they won a silver and bronze medal on the second day of ATC 2025 through Nur Umairah Qhaisara Zulfikha Razak and Dania Avriel Alviera Azif through the keirin and scratch events respectively.
Also outstanding in contributing medals at the ATC 2025 was the national para track cycling squad who added another gold to their collection from the women’s Tandem B pursuit event through Nur Azlia Syafinaz Mohd Zais, Nur Fitrah Shaari (helmsman) while Nur Suraiya Muhamad Zamri’s compatriot, Farina Shawati Mohd Adnan (helmsman) won bronze.
The first silver medal for the national cycling squad was also won today through Ahmad Ahlami Mohamad and Muhammad Luqman Daniel Mohammad Roji (helmsman) in the men’s Tandem B chase event.
