National track cyclistNational track cyclist Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom in action during the Men Elite Keirin Category Final at Asian Track Championship 2025 at the National Velodrome in Nilai, Negri Sembilan.— MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
NILAI: The season is over for national track cyclist Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom.
A lingering knee injury has ended his hopes to race at the World Championships in Santiago, Chile next month and also his dream to win a first SEA Games gold medal in Thailand in December.
The 29-year-old sustained a tendonitis injury in his knee during a strength training session in February.
Despite the injury, he battled through the pain to capture his first major international individual title, winning the keirin gold at the Track Nations Cup in Konya, Turkiye in March.
But track cycling technical director John Beasley revealed that Shah Firdaus is now undergoing stem cell treatment and can only expect to return to track action in March next year.
"No Worlds for Shah as his knee is finally progressing. The first test was on Wednesday after the stem cell injection and it looks like the knee is responding positively.
"We are aiming for the first competition for him in March 2026 as Shah has not been training intensively for the past six months and he is about 60 per cent fit," said Beasley.
Shah Firdaus has endured a string of setbacks over the years, including heavy crashes at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics as well as at the 2023 Asian Championships in Nilai.
