Cycling: Acid test for Josiah

PETALING JAYA: The first leg of the Track Cycling World Cup in Sydney from Nov 17-19 will be the acid test for the sprint team, led by Josiah Ng, before they compete in the Doha Asian Games. 

Josiah will have current Asian champion Rizal Tisin for company when he sets out to defend the keirin title. 

The duo will also compete in the team sprint event together with the third rider, which will be decided later between Junaidi Nasir and Faizal Mohd Noh. 

JOSIAH: ‘The opening leg of the World Cup in two weeks will be our first majorevent and I am excited to see how we shape up.’

Based in Melbourne since October and looking on current performances, Josiah is confident that the team will bring home more than one medal from the Doha Asiad. 

Josiah, who is tipped to be the flag bearer of the Malaysian Asian Games contingent, was the only Malaysian medallist in cycling at the 2002 Busan Asian. He took silver in the individual sprints and it was the first time in 32 years that Malaysia picked up an Asiad cycling medal. 

Ng Joo Ngan and Daud Ibrahim were gold medallists in the road race and massed start events in Bangkok in 1970. 

“We have been training here for more than a month. The opening leg of the World Cup in two weeks will be our first major event and I am excited to see how we shape up,” said Josiah in a telephone interview from Sydney yesterday. 

“I'm feeling stronger and at the level where I think I should be. If we come away with good times in the company of world-class cyclists, I think we have a very good chance to make the podium more than once.” 

Josiah's optimism stems from the fact that Rizal has emerged as a rider to be reckoned with, in Asia at least, after becoming the first Malaysian in 19 years to take gold in the Asian Championships in Kuala Lumpur in September. 

As the sole Malaysian rider previously, Josiah has always been at a disadvantage when he comes up against the Australians, French, Japanese or South Koreans. 

“The guys are stepping up. Rizal is pushing me in training and that is good because we have more chances to make the final and race for a medal,” he said. 

Josiah is hopeful of better results in his second appearance in the Asiad. 

“I got a silver in the sprints and I want to go one better this time, hopefully in the keirin,” he said. 

The main medal prospects for Malaysia will not just be in the keirin but also in the sprints. 

There is hope in the individual sprints if both Josiah and Rizal can make it past the quarter-final knockout stages. 

With the inclusion of Josiah, the team sprint is in with a shot at making the final, which will guarantee a silver medal. Based on current times, Malaysia are likely to contest for the bronze medal against South Korea with gold to be decided between Japan and China. 

Besides the sprint riders, the others in the team of 11 based in Melbourne will also compete in the World Cup. 

They are the 4km team pursuit riders, Amir Mustafa Rusli, Mohd Akmal Amrun, Thum Weng Kin and Mohd Hariff Salleh; time trial specialist Mohd Hafiz Sufian; and women's cyclists Noor Azian Alias and Uracca Leow.