THE target is clear for Mohd Firdaus Mohd Zonis and if he achieves it, he will become Malaysia’s first junior world champion in 10 days.
Such is the confidence coach Junaidi Nasir has in his 18-year-old protege as the sprints squad boards their flight to South Korea tonight for the UCI Track Junior World Championships in Gwangmyeong.
With a record seven Asian junior titles under his belt, the Kuala Selangor-born Mohd Firdaus has a final shot at glory in the world junior meet, where he expects a strong performance that will boost his chances of making the Asian Games squad.
“For Mohd Firdaus, I’ve done all the research and statistics we need to set him a targeted time. And our focus is firmly on the 1km time trial where his personal best is one minute 03.965s,” said Junaidi.
“We need a time of under one minute and 03 seconds, which I can confidently say will put Mohd Firdaus in with a chance for the gold medal. He is in with a strong chance of becoming our first ever junior world champion.”
Mohd Firdaus, along with younger brother Mohd Fadhil, Shariz Effendi Mohd Shahrin and Farina Shawati Mohd Adnan have not allowed the fasting month and festive period to interrupt their training, with Junaidi already sending another sprinter Khairil Nizam Rasol on an attachment in Gwangmyeong along with the track endurance squad under coach Zamani Mustarudin.
The endurance squad and Zamani have been in South Korea for the past three weeks and will join the sprinters when they arrive tomorrow.
Mohd Firdaus was a picture of calm and poise as he completed his final training session at the Kuala Lumpur Velodrome yesterday, reiterating that he is determined to end his tenure as a junior with the ultimate high, which is a world title.
“Firstly my target will be the 1km time trial and I know I can set the targeted time. In the keirin and 200m sprint, the coach has told us our first aim will be to make it to the finals. If we have two riders in the keirin final, we will be in with a chance, but that is going to be a tall order,” said Mohd Firdaus.
“Personally, I see this as my last chance to do something special as a junior and create some history for the country, so I am not going to allow anything to interrupt my focus. I am geared totally for this assignment.”
Farina, the Asian Junior Championship silver medallist in the 500m time trial, is seen as an outsider for a medal but she is confident of being among the higher placings in all her events.
Malaysia’s only medal at the Junior World Championships came in Moscow in 2009 when Adiq Husainie Othman won a bronze in the scratch race. By Arnaz M. Khairul