PARIS: National track cyclist Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom advanced to the men’s keirin quarter-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics today.
The 28-year-old secured his spot after winning the third repechage heat at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines National Velodrome, clocking in at 10.154 seconds (s).
Muhammad Shah Firdaus, who won two bronze medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, outpaced Canada’s Nick Wammes (+0.014s), China’s Liu Qi (+0.121s), and Suriname’s Jair Tjon En Fa (+0.144s). Only two riders advanced to the quarterfinals, which will take place tomorrow.
France’s Rayan Helal initially finished second but was relegated for irregular movement to prevent an opponent from passing.
Muhammad Shah Firdaus had to compete in the repechage after being relegated in his first round Heat for riding on the blue band and receiving a warning for moving down towards the inside of the track and forcing another competitor off the track.
In tomorrow’s first quarter-final heat, he will face tough competition from Jack Carlin of Great Britain, Matthew Glaetzer of Australia, and Kaiya Ota of Japan.
Commenting on the relegation incident, national coach John Beasley said Muhammad Shah Firdaus needs to become more mature in making decisions on the track.
“Shah has got the potential to be anything he wants to be, but got to mature a little bit more. He knows he can’t pass underneath right? We’ve spent years and years together, you can’t do that.
“He is a fantastic athlete, but he is not going to be great until he learns that he got to make his own decisions at the right time. You can’t rely on other people,” he said.
Earlier, Malaysia’s main medal hope, Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, was disqualified in the first heat for passing the derny (an electric motorbike acting as a pacer) before it left the track.
The quarter-final round is scheduled for 11.29 am Sunday (5.29 pm in Malaysia), followed by the semi-finals an hour later and the final at 1.32 pm (7.32 pm in Malaysia).
