Ju Pha eyes Omnium gold after silver in Criterium, Mass start

NILAI: National cyclist Ju Pha Som Net who has already won two silver medals, wants to be a part of the country's gold medal contributors in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games (KL2017), especially in the women’s Omnium event and help the cycling squad achieve the 13-gold target. 
Ju Pha who took a break from competitions since October last year to undergo training after being recruited in the police force, returned to active competition in Taiwan (June) and Japan (July).
"After completing my training in the police force, I joined the cycling team's training in Melbourne for a month and participated in the Asia Cup Championships in Taiwan (June) and Japan Cup in July. My performance and achievement in both competitions was good.
"This has given me the confidence and momentum once again, especially to compete in the SEA Games and my target is to win the Omnium (track) event although competition will be tough from Thailand and Vietnam riders. Competing at home will be an added pressure," she said.
Her two silver medals came from the Criterium and mass start.
The 24-year-old rider from Perlis believes she can be one of the riders to contribute a gold medal towards the Malaysian National Cycling Federation's 13-gold target for the SEA Games.
In the 2015 Singapore edition, Ju Pha could only manage a bronze medal in the women's Criterium but failed to finish on the podium of the Mass start after being involved in an accident.
“I have three days to prepare for the Omnium event which will be the last event in cycling. It is my pet event and I hope to clinch the gold,” she told reporters after the prize presentation ceremony here today.
In the 101.5km mass start that involved 13 riders, Ju Pha had to settle for the silver behind defending champion Nguyen Thi That from Vietnam while Priatna Ayustina Delia from Indonesia took the bronze. — Bernama