PETALING JAYA: It’s not just speed on the track that defines Nur Umairah Qhaisara Zulfikha Razak and Sawda Hasbullah as the junior cyclists are just as impressive in their studies.
Both had double reason to celebrate after collecting their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results two days ago.
Umairah scored 4As and 1B while Sawda was all smile with her 4As and 3Bs.
And yesterday, Umairah was doubly happy when she topped the UCI world rankings for junior girls' sprint.
The world rankings now combines all the performances from the individual track disciplines (sprint, keirin and 1km time trial).
She is also the reigning national champion for keirin and sprint.
The 18-year-old Sawda also made it to the top 10 list, placing seventh with a total of 1,622 points.
Sawda, who retained her girls' 1km time trial title said time management was the key.
"I often carry my books to competitions as whenever I have the free time, I will use it to catch up on my studies and assignments.
"Eating well is important too," said Sawda, who also finished fourth in the sprint and fifth in keirin at the Asian meet.
"It's not easy though and I don't know how I manage to do it.
The Melaka rider's next major assignment is the World Junior Championships in Belgium in August.
Sawda will be hoping to do better in her second appearance.
"If selected, I hope to get better results," she said.
