PETALING JAYA: A close finish – as close as a finger tip – was all that separated Fatehah Mustapa from a first-ever Track World Cup career medal after she continued her fine form by reaching the keirin final for the second time in a row in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on Friday.
The London Olympian cyclist finished fourth – just 0.244 of a second behind British rider Rebecca Angharad in the second leg of the 2013-2014 season.
Hong Kong star Lee Wai Sze took the silver behind Germany’s Kristina Vogel, who claimed her second gold medal in the World Cup.
Fatehah earned her place in the top six final earlier after finishing third in the second round heat behind Angharad and Vogel.
She was an automatic qualifier for the second round by virtue of her second-placed finish behind Wai Sze in the first round.
Fatehah also reached the final in the opening leg in Manchester last month and Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) deputy president Datuk Naim Mohamad said that it augured well for her chances at the World Championships in Cali next February.
“Fatehah has continued from where she left off by progressing to the keirin final again. She is earning good points towards the 2016 Rio Olympics qualification,” he said. “Fatehah should confirm her place for the world meet and it’s good for her confidence level.”
Making two consecutive finals has put Fatehah in fourth place in the overall standings for keirin on 211 points, behind Wai Sze (248), Angharad (255) and Vogel 300.
There were also uplifting performances from Azizulhasni Awang and Josiah Ng as they smashed the 10-second barrier for men’s sprinting.
Azizul clocked 9.854 while Josiah posted 9.963 in qualifying.
However, their efforts only placed them 34th and 38th respectively in what was a super-fast qualifying session, which saw the top 40 cyclists dipping under the 10-second barrier.
Francois Pervis of France clocked a blazing fast 9.347 to smash countryman Kevin Sireau’s world record of 9.572 set in Moscow in 2009.
However, Francois was only placed sixth as Matthew Glaetzer of Australia claimed the men’s sprint gold after beating reigning Olympic champion Jason Kenny of Britain in straight heats in the final.
Mexico will again host the final leg of the Track World Cup in Guadalajara in the middle of January.
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