KUALA LUMPUR: National riders capped their campaign at the International Belgian Track Meet on a positive note in Ghent yesterday.
Shah Firdaus Sahrom clinched a well-deserved silver medal in the men's keirin at the Eddy Merckx Flemish Cycling Centre.
Drawn last behind the derny, Shah worked his way up the pack in the final and was third at the bell but ran out of track at the end. He settled for second behind Sebastien Vigier (Creteil-Kronos), while Luca Priore (France) completed the podium.
Shah was the only Malaysian to reach the final. Azizulhasni Awang, who has just returned from injury, and Fadhil Zonis, as well as Ridwan Sahrom, who is Shah's younger brother, did not make it past the semi-finals.
Azizulhasni and Fadhil, however, finished 1-2 in the 7-12th decider with Ridwan crossing the line fourth.
National coach John Beasley said he was pleased with his charges overall performances.
Azizulhasni and Shah had on Friday reached the individual sprint quarterfinals while women's trio Anis Amira Rosidi, Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri and Nurul Aliana Syafika Azizan all reached the keirin semi-finals on
Saturday.
"I am happy with all the boys' performances today, it (silver) is good for Shah and Fadhil also rode well," said Beasley today.
"As for Azizulhasni, he is on a different programme compared with the other riders. He is targeted (for peak performance) for June.
"The girls' also did really well in the keirin. Anis should have been in the final but was squeezed off the track (in semi-final) by another rider who had clearly infringed.
"But overall, I am very happy with their progress."
The Asian Track Cycling Championships, which offers Olympic qualifying points, will be held at the National Velodrome in Nilai, Negri Sembilan, in June.
With the exception of Azizulhasni and Ridwan, the team will head for Canada for the Milton leg of the UCI Nations Cup, which starts on Thursday.