HAVING announced their arrival among the big boys in the Asian Para Games that ended in Incheon last Saturday, the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 is now firmly on the national para cycling squad’s radar.
An historic silver and three bronze medals in Incheon proved that head coach Johari Nayan’s charges are well on course to challenge the world’s best, particularly since those were the country’s first ever medals in the Asian Para Games.
At least one slot in the Rio Paralympics is in the bag, but Johari said in the coming months, more slots should be confirmed with points via the World Cup and Asian Championships.
“A gold should have been ours in the 1km time trial as Hafiz Sufian and Aiman Asyraf Ahmad Bajuri had set a new Asian record,” said Johari. “But the bi-factor ruling meant a percentage of time was added to us because the event was combined with women. Although it was quite unfair, we have to accept it.
“Under normal regulations, we definitely would have got the gold. I’m disappointed but overall, we showed we have closed the gap on the top para cycling nations in Asia like China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea and Taiwan.”
The Asian Para Games also showed a quick rise in performances from the track squad, who had only kicked off their programme last year.
“We are still very new in para cycling, not just on the track. So these were medals that meant a lot, although we failed to meet our one gold medal target,” said Johari.
“On the track our boys showed we have a lot of promise. Najib Turano had only recently switched from the road events to focus on the 4km individual pursuit, but he took home a bronze.
“At the Asian Championships, these events were usually dominated by China and Japan, so this is a step up for us.
“We are in the midst of a two-week break, but the boys are quite eager to get back to work despite having spent the whole year preparing for Incheon.
“That is the spirit I want to maintain in this squad. They are all now dreaming of making it to Rio, so they are highly motivated.” By Arnaz M. Khairul