Newly recovered Shah Firdaus returns to saddle but not ready for SEA Games

I will see you soon: Rider Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom is on the road to recovery after surgery.

NILAI: Track cyclist Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom is back on the saddle after a long layoff but he will not be part of the SEA Games campaign in Thailand next month.

National track head coach Harnizam Basri will not risk the decision to put Shah Firdaus through the grind even though his presence in Bangkok will increase Malaysia’s chances to secure the sprint discipline gold medals.

Shah Firdaus suffered an injury to his right knee and is now going through rehabilitation process after undergoing surgery more than a month ago.

“He was off the bicycle for a month to allow proper rehabilitation process,” said Harnizam.

“It would definitely strengthen our gold chances at the SEA Games but I want Shah to fully recover given that we have the Asian Games in Japan next year, which is considered a more important assignment for the country.

“We want Shah to fully recover from any injury by March because the main mission is the Asian Games and the 2028 Olympic Games qualification campaign.”

On whether there is replacement for the Paris Olympian keirin finalist, Harnizam said they would stick to the existing riders in the sprint squad.

“We cannot replace anyone because registration has closed, so we will go with Mohd Ridwan Sahrom, Mohd Fadhil Zonis and Mohd Akmal Nazimi Jusena.”

The trio will take up the challenge to win the team sprint while Ridwan and Fadhil are likely to ride in the keirin as well.

“At this moment, I dare say there is no major change in the strength of the team. We will still have a strong presence in the SEA Games,” said Harnizam.

The coach however, regretted that Shah Firdaus’ injury was not identified earlier.

“I’m frustrated because it took seven months before we knew the actual cause, only later we were able to identify the hairline crack in the cartilage bone area in his knee.

“We had tried different treatments and if we knew the actual cause, we could have focused on the proper rehabilitation earlier.”

Shah Firdaus last competed in March at the Track Nations Cup where he made history by beating a strong field to claim his first keirin victory on the global stage. He skipped the world meet in Chile last month despite qualifying in first place.

Track cycling is making a return to the SEA Games roster with five gold medals up for grabs. Malaysia emerged overall champions with 13 golds the last time track cycling was contested at the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.