PETALING JAYA: National cyclist Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom marked his return to top form with a commanding double at the Indonesia Track Cup in Jakarta, securing the men’s elite sprint and keirin titles at the Jakarta International Velodrome.
The Johor-born rider, competing in only his third event since his knee surgery, held off teammate Mohd Fadhil Zonis in the sprint and repeated the feat in the keirin final.
Shah Firdaus had raced alongside Azizulhasni Awang at the recent Track World Cup meet in Nilai last month but did not progress past the first round of keirin heat.
The 30-year-old rider, however, achieved his goal to dip below 10 seconds in the sprint the following day, clocking 9.895s to reach the knockout rounds.
Shah Firdaus managed to reach the second round before he was shown the exit at the World Cup meet.
Technical director John Beasley was pleased to see Shah Firdaus achieving his first international win after more than a year.
Shah Firdaus claimed his last racing victory back when he made a stunning breakthrough by winning the keirin final at the Track World Cup in Konya, Turkiye in March last year.
“Shah had it tough as he had to compete in high intensity meets in Hong Kong and in Nilai.
“Shah didn’t even qualify for the individual sprint in Hong Kong but he made it to the second round in Nilai.
“It’s good to see him on top again and good for his confidence as we slowly bring him back to where he was before for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
“The physio and conditioning coach did a great job with his rehabilitation.
“Now the hard work begins for him, he has a big (hypertrophy) training block to come and there will be big gains to make after this,” he said.
Paris Olympian Nur Aisyah Zubir also contributed two silver medals, finishing behind Singapore’s Valencia Tan in the women’s elite points and scratch race.
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