Nurul Izzah Defends Natonal Championship Sprint Gold

NILAI, June 11 (Bernama) -- National women's track cyclist Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri described her success in defending the elite sprint gold medal at the National and Junior Track Championships this time as a meaningful achievement.

Nurul Izzah said this year's success was more special because the competition she faced was more intense compared to last edition, besides having to go through the deciding race for the first time at the National Championships.

She said she made a mistake in the first race of the final, but managed to improve on that weakness to come back in the last two races.

"This year is really meaningful for me because Nur Alyssa (Johor cyclist Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid) gave me a tough fight this year. I have never been to the decider for the National Championships, so this is also a good development.

"We need to keep improving, we cannot be comfortable with our place right now. We have opponents who can give the same fight as us, so it's a good thing for us to keep improving together for the next competition," she said when met after the race at the National Velodrome, Nilai here, today.

Today's success added to Nurul Izzah's joy after also winning gold in the keirin event yesterday.

Meanwhile, the women's sprint bronze medal went to Nurul Aliana Syafika Azizan of Penang who beat Selangor’s Yong Ann Tung.

Regarding the next tournament, Nurul Izzah said her focus is now on the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland starting in July, the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan (September) and the World Championships scheduled to be held in October.

According to her, efforts to collect qualification points for the World Championships are still ongoing, but the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games are also important in her plans this season.

-- BERNAMA