NATIONAL track cyclist Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom believed he could have challenged the men’s sprint gold medal if his victory in the first semi-final heats against China’s Zhou Yu was not overturned over an infraction.

The 27-year-old Shah Firdaus won the event, but the commissaire overturned the result as the Malaysian entered Zhou’s lane during the final lap at the Chun’an Jieshou Sports Centre Velodrome today.

In the second semi-final heats, the Malaysian blundered when he allowed Zhou to take the lead to the finish line.

“I am a bit sad, my legs were really good, but I got ‘relegated’ after winning the first heat. I don’t know what the reason is, they said there was a little bit of body contact.

“But I think that’s normal, you can see that the track is a little bit difficult to handle. Everyone does the same thing, but there’s nothing we can do… I could have gone for gold, (and) I could have easily won it,” he said in a post-race interview.

Shah Firdaus, who won silver in the team sprint in the 2018 Asian Games, said he decided not to go all out to chase Zhou in the second semi-final heats as he wanted to conserve energy for the bronze medal decider.

In the bronze medal decider, the Malaysian clinched his maiden individual medal in the Asian Games when he defeated China’s Chenxi Xue 2-0.

Japan’s Kaiya Ota bagged gold after edging Zhou in the final following the absence of reigning Asian Championships and 2018 Asian Games gold medallist Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, who withdrew due to injuries sustained during training sessions.

National team manager Mohd Izham Mohamad admitted Shah Firdaus accidentally entered Zhou’s lane in the final lap.

“The track here is quite tricky. Shah (Firdaus) accidentally went into the Chinese rider’s lane as it’s quite difficult to control your bicycle when travelling at high speed. According to the rules, we cannot enter our opponents’ lanes once the sprint has begun… (If not for that), we stood a very good chance of making the final,” he said.

Shah Firdaus and Muhammad Fadhil Mohd Zonis will compete in the men’s keirin event tomorrow. – Bernama, September 28, 2023.