KUALA LUMPUR – The National Cycling Federation of Malaysia (MNCF) is placing high hopes on the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to grant them an additional accreditation card for the upcoming Paris Olympics in July.
This specific request is aimed at the team manager of the road cycling athletes.
Vice President Norazman Abu Samah, who also chairs the PKBM Road Cycling Committee, expressed this request during the Olympic Games team managers’ meeting held yesterday.
In the road cycling event, Malaysia will be represented by sole cyclist Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir, who will be accompanied by her coach, Amir Mustafa Rosli.
It is a historic moment in the local cycling sports scene as Aisyah will become the first female road cyclist from the country to compete in the Olympics.
However, Azman believes that Aisyah and Amir require adequate support and assistance from the association, especially as the focus will be more on the track cycling squad, which is Malaysia’s prospect for winning gold in Paris.
“That’s what I raised in the team managers’ meeting with OCM because four years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, the team managers did not accompany the contingent.
“At that time, only the track team qualified, but for this year, with the road cyclists also making history by qualifying for Paris, we requested consideration for an additional accreditation card for the manager.
“We have invested a lot and provided assistance for Aisyah to qualify for Paris, unlike the track cycling team, which receives sufficient funding from the National Sports Council (NSC).
“We understand that we cannot disrupt the accreditation quota for the track cycling team, especially the support staff needed for Datuk Azizulhasni (Awang). I’m afraid if anything happens, we will be blamed.
“But we have one more addition, which is Aisyah, whom we have already worked on. So, I hope OCM can extend their kindness to us,” said Azman to Scoop.
Earlier, Malaysia’s Chef de Mission, Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, explained that OCM may have to limit the issuance of accreditation cards to team managers for this Olympics, considering the expected lower number of athletes qualifying for the event compared to previous editions.
This means that some team managers may have to manage and assist their athletes remotely. – March 19, 2024