KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) is confident that there is a silver lining for the national road cycling squad, regarding the RM1.5 million allocation which was cancelled by the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) in 2013.
MNCF Road Cycling Committee chairman, Norazman Abu Samah, said that the matter had been raised in a recent meeting of the Working Committee with the sports governing body.
“When we presented (the matter) in the meeting, the deputy director-general of the National Sports Council Arrifin Mohd Ghani gave a positive response to help, although not completely, but in phases. We were also asked to write a letter to KBS regarding the matter.
“Insya-Allah we will meet the minister later…I will try to appeal.
“As I said before, road cycling is different from track events, mountain biking (MTB) or freestyle, which are under their own associations,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
MNCF received an allocation of RM1.5 million a year for the road cycling team, but it was cancelled after returning empty-handed from the 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia.
Previously, Norazman expressed hope that the success of the women’s road cycling squad, in booking a slot for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, would convince KBS to reinstate the allocation for the team.
The country’s prominent road cycling rider, Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir, 26, will compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris after the MNCF named her for the slot awarded to the country by the Union Cycliste Internationale.
The last time Malaysian cyclists featured in the road racing programme of the Olympics was during the 2012 London Olympics when Muhammad Adiq Hussainie Othman and Amir Mustafa competed in the road racing events.
Norazman said that MNCF at the same time was making some preparations for Nur Aisyah to go to Paris.
“She will be cycling on the Vietnam Tour and the Thailand Tour, but if (these do not materialise) we also plan for her to participate in the training centre in Thailand from May to July,” he said. – December 24, 2023