Azizul and Shah Firdaus eye Commonwealth glory after favourite Matthew’s surprise exit

Double trouble: Azizulhasni Awang and Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom will be hoping to shine in Glasgow.

PETALING JAYA: The door has swung open for cyclists Azizulhasni Awang and Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom after hot favourite Matthew Richardson’s shock withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games.

The England’s Olympic Games silver medallist Richardson’s absence could open up a chance for Malaysia to win their first Games cycling gold medal in 16 years when the competition starts today at Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

Azizul and Shah Firdaus hopes to take advantage of the situation.

Richardson has been ruled out of the Games in Glasgow with injury. He would have been one of the main medal contenders on the track and was planning to race the team sprint, keirin and the sprint.

The current sprint world record holder is also in the best form of his life this season, beating Olympic champion Harrie Lavreysen to win the European sprint and keirin titles recently.

However, Richardson is unable to recover in time after he was injured in a crash and subsequent heavy fall at this week’s World Series keirin event in Japan.

Malaysia’s technical director John Beasley is certainly hoping Azizul and Shah Firdaus to rise to the occasion in keirin today.

“I saw the footage and he fell very awkwardly and it was a heavy crash, so I’m not surprised Richardson has withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games,” said Beasley.

“With Richardson out, it certainly opens up the sprint competition (tomorrow).

“That said, it remains an exceptionally strong field. Australia and Trinidad still have the favourites in the sprint.

“Aussie cyclist Leigh Hoffman is currently ranked No. 1 and Nicholas Paul (also the defending champion) is ranked No. 3 in the UCI sprint world rankings,” said Beasley.

The Australian said crashes were unavoidable in the sport.

“Unfortunately, these things happen. If you remember, four years ago Azizul had a serious crash during training just two weeks prior to the Asian Games,” said Beasley.

“He was unable to recover from the severe bone bruising in time to compete in China.

“It was a huge disappointment after all the preparation. That is the harsh reality of this sport.

“When athletes are racing at speeds in excess of 80kph, crashes can happen and sometimes they come at the worst possible time.

“The English rider’s withdrawal certainly creates opportunities for others but there are still plenty of world class riders capable of winning, including ours.”

For the record, Josiah Ng is the only Malaysian who made it to the top of the podium in Commonwealth Games cycling history.

Josiah was promoted from second to first place in the men’s keirin final after Azizul was relegated in the 2010 edition in New Delhi, India.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Nur Suraiya Mohd Zamri and Nur Azlia Syafinaz Mohd Zais were no match for the powerful English and Australian para track cyclists in the women’s tandem (B) sprint event at Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

Suraiya and her pilot Farina Shawati Mohd Adnan did not make the cut for the semi-finals after placing fifth in the qualifying round with a time of 11.834s.

Azlia and pilot Nurul Suhada Zainal were just behind their teammates after clocking 12.799s.

The 2024 world champions Elizabeth Jordan and her pilot Sylvia Misztal from England led the top four qualifiers for the semi-finals after lapping the track in a time of 10.870s.

Reigning world champion Mohd Yusof Hafizi Shaharuddin will see action in the men’s 1km time trial C1-C3 event today.