Malaysia's Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri celebrating after winning gold medal in the sprint event at the Asean Track Series.–KAMARUL ARIFFIN/TheStar
NILAI: Malaysia's top female track cyclist Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri is willing to mentor rising athlete Nur Alyssa Farid towards greater achievements.
While her journey to becoming a top national track cyclist is ongoing, she hopes others will challenge her competitively so that Malaysia can produce more outstanding cyclists on the international stage.
"When talking about Alyssa's performance, I hope for more athletes to challenge me. When there is competition, I won't remain in my comfort zone, and Alyssa can fight alongside me and (we) improve together.
"I am prepared to support Alyssa in every way possible. I can provide motivation, and give her 100 per cent support. When it comes to competition, we fight together," she said.
Alyssa has been gaining attention as a rising star in the sport since joining the national elite squad at 19. She garnered several medals at the Asean track Series recently, including a silver medal in the sprint event and two bronze medals in keirin and individual sprint.
The Muar-born was previously part of the national back-up squad. However, after setting a new personal record in the 200m "flying" sprint with a time of under 11 seconds - 10.953s - she earned the opportunity to join the elite podium camp.
The record time also made her the second-fastest female cyclist in the country, trailing national track cycling star Izzah by just 2.10s. - Bernama
