Track Cycling Begins at Izu, Where Azizulhasni Won Olympic Silver
Malaysia's sprinters open their track campaign with the team sprint at Izu Velodrome, where coach Harnizam Basri says experience of the track will help.
Malaysia's track cyclists started their Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games campaign on Tuesday (29 September) at Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka. It is a venue Malaysian cycling fans will remember.
The first event is the men's team sprint. Muhammad Fadhil Zonis, Muhammad Ridwan Sahrom and Mohd Akmal Nazimi Jusena are the trio. They are the same three riders who won SEA Games gold in Thailand last December in a national record of 1:00.520, RTM reported at the time.
Why Izu matters to Malaysia
This is where Datuk Azizulhasni Awang won keirin silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Utusan Malaysia noted that five years before that, at the 2016 Asian Track Championships, he also won two bronzes here, in the keirin and the individual sprint.
Izu opened in 2011. It is Japan's only indoor 250-metre wooden velodrome and is known as a demanding track.
The coach's view
National sprint head coach Harnizam Basri says most of his riders have raced at Izu before. The exception is Akmal, who is racing there for the first time.
"Izu has long straights and tight corners, so it has different characteristics compared to other velodromes," Harnizam told Utusan Malaysia (translated from Malay).
He said Izu is about a metre wider than the National Velodrome in Nilai, and its banking is slightly steeper at 45 degrees compared with 44 degrees in Nilai. In his view, that suits "bigger and more powerful riders because they can gain more momentum."
In the team sprint, each rider has to hand over speed to the next with almost no margin for error, so Akmal's first time on the track is something to watch. Harnizam does not see it as a big problem because the rest of the squad knows the track so well.
A podium to defend
At Hangzhou 2022, Fadhil, Ridwan and Umar Hasbullah won team sprint bronze. With Akmal in the line-up and the SEA Games national record behind them, the trio are one of Malaysia's better medal hopes in the last week of the Games.
Track cycling was one of the 13 sports chef de mission Datuk Mohd Sumali Reduan named as medal contenders before the Games. Malaysia already have six golds, so any cycling medal would help them reach the 33-medal target, which still needs 14 more.
What to watch
The team sprint opens a busy few days of sprint racing at Izu. PlayDash will report Malaysia's results as they come in. For now, the focus is on whether Fadhil, Ridwan and Akmal can win another team sprint medal on a track that has been good to Malaysian cyclists.
Key takeaways
- Malaysia's track cycling campaign started on 29 September with the men's team sprint at Izu Velodrome.
- Fadhil Zonis, Ridwan Sahrom and Akmal Jusena won SEA Games gold together in a national record of 1:00.520.
- Azizulhasni Awang won Olympic keirin silver at Izu at Tokyo 2020.
- Coach Harnizam Basri says the long straights and 45-degree banking suit powerful riders.
FAQ
Q: Where is Izu Velodrome? A: In Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is Japan's only indoor 250m wooden velodrome and was used for track cycling at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Q: What did Malaysia win in the team sprint at Hangzhou 2022? A: Bronze, with Muhammad Fadhil Zonis, Muhammad Ridwan Sahrom and Umar Hasbullah.
Q: What is the men's team sprint national record? A: 1:00.520, set by Fadhil, Akmal and Ridwan at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand.
Sources: Utusan Malaysia, RTM, Malay Mail