PETALING JAYA: Barely four months into the job, former Olympian track cyclist Rizal Tisin already has something nice to shout about on his coaching resume.
Rizal was all smiles on the sidelines as he watched his charge Mohd Yusof Hafizi Shaharuddin rise to the occasion to deliver a fine silver medal for Malaysia at the Para Cycling Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday.
The Perak-born Yusof clocked 1:15.432s in the final of the men’s C1 1km time trial event to finish on the podium for the second year in a row.
Spain’s Ardiles Ten, the reigning road time trial Paralympic champion, finished just ahead for the gold with 1:15.182s while the bronze went to Ivan Ermakov, competing under Independent Neutral Athletes, with a time of 1:17.657s.
Yusof had qualified fastest for the final after clocking an impressive 1:14.117s but could not maintain the same pace for the final.
Well deserved: Mohd Yusof Hafizi Shaharuddin posing with his prizes at the Para Cycling Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.
The silver is still the best individual achievement for Malaysia in the world meet and a big step up for Yusof after taking bronze twice in the same event in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, (2022) and in Rio de Janeiro last year.
“My best result in the world meet. Many thanks to the coaches, my parents and my teammates for the encouragement and support to bring up Malaysia’s name on the world stage,” said the 28-year-old from Kuala Kangsar.
Certainly it also has something to do with Rizal’s presence back in the national cycling set-up after working outside Malaysia over the last few years.
Rizal was working with Thailand national cycling team earlier this year before he was persuaded by the sport’s technical director John Beasley to return home in July.
The positions in the track cycling programme were already filled up but there was the need to strengthen the para cycling squad to prepare for the Los Angeles Paralympics in three years time and Rizal has made an immediate impact.
Beasley believed he made the right call to put Rizal in charge of the para cycling programme.
“Rizal knows what it takes to win on the world stage, being a former Asian keirin champion and the first Malaysian to win a medal at the World Championships in Poland in 2009,” said Beasley.
“There was quite a bit of controversy when I had to make the coaching change as many people weren’t happy about it and I wasn’t very popular at the time.
“But I hope this result shows that the decision was necessary and that we now have the right person leading the para cycling programme.”
Malaysia missed out on a second medal when the mixed team sprint combination of Nur Suraiya Mohd Zamri-Khairul Hazwan Abdul Wahab lost to Britain’s Elizabeth Jordan-James Ball in the ride for the bronze medal.
