Track Cycling World Cup: Malaysia Stalls On Opening Day

NILAI, April 24 (Bernama) -- The national track cycling team had a dismal start in the 2026 Track Cycling World Cup when they failed to qualify for any medal contention in today’s events at National Velodrome here.

In the elimination races, Muhammad Hafiq Mohd Jafri finished 18th in the men’s final, while Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir, who finished the women’s final in 21st place, shared that tactical errors was the main cause of her failure today.

“Maybe I was lax because the pace of the race was so fast. When I was in front, I felt that I had slipped up tactically and when I was in that situatoin, I didn’t have room to sprint,” she said when met after the race.

Meanwhile, the national women’s sprint team - Anis Amira Rosidi, Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri and Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid - were eliminated in the first round when they lost to the Polish team of  Marlena Karwacka, Nikola Seremak and Nikola Sibiak who recorded a time of 47.673 seconds (s) against the national squad’s 48.297s.

Anis Amira tried to look on the bright side of things after the loss, stating that the time they recorded nearly matched the national record of 48.086s.

“I wouldn’t say we’re disappointed as our time was very near to the national record. At the same time, I just recovered from a fever and Izzah also isn’t well, so for us to get such a good time is something positive.

“During qualification, we only focus on doing our best to get to the next round. In the first round, we want to improve on our time, but maybe the track conditions changed and pressure is also a factor,” she added.

Finally, the national men’s sprint team of Mohd Akmal Nazimi Jusena, Muhammad Fadhil Mohd Zonis and Adib Andhar Andan, who replaced injured Muhammad Ridwan, lost in the qualifying round with the second slowest time of 45.704s.

-- BERNAMA