KUALA LUMPUR – National track cyclists Datuk Azizulhasni Awang, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom, and surprise package Nurul Izzah Izzati Asri have provisionally qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics in July.
“Unofficially, Azizulhasni and Shah Firdaus have qualified for the Paris Olympics in both the sprint and keirin events.
“After her sterling performance at the Nation Cup in Milton, Canada, Nurul Izzah has also unofficially qualified for Paris in the sprint and keirin,” said Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) acting deputy president Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill in a statement today.
He added that the official list would be sent to all National Olympic Councils on April 22.
Paris will be Azizulhasni’s fifth Olympics, tying former national diver Datuk Leong Mun Yee’s record.
He made his debut at Beijing 2008 and competed at London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020.
He won the bronze at Rio and the silver in Tokyo, both in his pet keirin event.
For Shah Firdaus, Paris will be his second Summer Games after Tokyo 2020.
Nurul Izzah is the surprise, as the rising star was only targeted to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
But going into the Nations Cup in Milton, the 21-year-old had an outside chance of qualifying for Paris.
She needed to finish top eight in the keirin event, and she did just that.
It was a marked improvement from her result in previous legs in Adelaide and Hong Kong, where she did not make it out of the first round repechage.
However, Nurul Izzah had a fruitful outing at the Asian Track Cycling Championship in New Delhi, India, in February.
The Jitra-born speedster won two golds, one silver, and one bronze.
Officially, Malaysia has qualified six athletes for Paris – archer Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, road cyclist Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir, diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises, sailor Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif, shooter Johnathan Wong, and weightlifter Aniq Kasdan. – April 15, 2024