NILAI: Nurul Izzah, the country’s young female track cycling star, will receive a new bicycle to prepare for her challenge at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which commence on July 26.
The exciting news was confirmed by head coach of the national track cycling squad, John Beasley, who said Nurul Izzah would be getting a feel of her new machine soon.
“The bike we will talk about in the later stage because we plan for a bit of a launch. Izzah will use the (model) W-XR in a couple of weeks time,” he said at a press conference of the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) at the National Velodrome here today.
Beasley said the promising 20-year-old athlete, whom he is already billing as the ‘Pocket Rocketwoman’, will be equipped with a high-tech bike similar to those used by national track cycling champions Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom.
Nurul Izzah will make her first appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics after her name was listed for the prestigious event along with Mohd Azizulhasni and Muhammad Shah.
Nurul Izzah expressed her excitement about the new bicycle, seeing it as a boost for her performance in Paris.
“I didn’t expect to receive a bike like theirs. This new bike will lift my spirits, especially knowing that it was previously ridden by Datuk Azizulhasni himself,” she said.
Nurul Izzah, a double gold medalist at the 2024 Asian Track Cycling Championships in New Delhi, highlighted areas for improvement ahead of her Olympic debut.
She said this included garnering more confidence to perform in big games as well as going up a notch in her keirin event.
“To succeed at the Olympics, I need to work on my positioning and confidence in the keirin event. I also aim to enhance my speed and overall performance,” she said.
Apart from Nurul Izzah, five other athletes will represent Malaysia at the Paris Olympics: Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif (sailing), Johnathan Wong (shooting), Ariana Nur Dania Mohd Zairi (archery), Nur Aisyah Mohd Zubir (road cycling) and Bertrand Rhodict Lises (diving).
The Paris Olympics are scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11.
