KUALA LUMPUR: Mountain biking coach Nor Alfizar Othman is desperately hoping the national squad's outstanding performances at the Asian Championships, which concluded in Putrajaya yesterday, will open the eyes of the sporting authorities.
The team, comprised of 29 riders, survived on rice, sardines, eggs, biscuits and instant coffee donated by the cycling community during the week-long tournament.
Despite their limited resources, they still won two golds through Zulfikri Zulkifli (men's cross country eliminator) and Nurul Azlina Razali (women's junior downhill) as well as three bronzes from Ahmad Syazrin Awang Ilah (men's cross country eliminator), Nur Fitrah Shaari (women's cross country eliminator) and Phi Kun Pan (women's cross country).
"We are so grateful to achieve what we have with the limited support we were given. This is our (Malaysia's) greatest achievement in the history of the Asian Championships," said Alfizar yesterday.
"Initially, our target was to win at least two bronzes. but we have far exceeded that now. I hope that what we have achieved will open the eyes of the Malaysia National Cycling Federation (MNCF), National Sports Council (NSC) and Youth and Sports Ministry.
"Please give us the chance to form a (proper) national team and prepare the riders for next year's Thailand SEA Games. Give us the support we need, if we have that support I am confident we can even qualify and do well at the 2026 Nagoya Asian Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. We have the potential."
Alfizar is the state coach for Kedah, but took the initiative to band together with a number of other state coaches to guide the national team, which does not have a permanent national coach, for the Asian meet.
MNCF issued a letter dated April 26, announcing the appointment of Alfizar and three other coaches to guide the national team during the Asian Championships.
Mountain biking was briefly included under the NSC programme after the national squad won gold in the cross country relay at the Hanoi Sea Games in 2022. They were, however, dropped by NSC after failing to win a medal at the Phnom Penh SEA Games last year.
Alfizar thanked the cycling community, including individuals, cycling teams and bike shops, that supported the team during the Asian Championships.
"It is true that we survived on donations, I myself cooked for the riders everyday in our homestay," said Alfizar.
"Despite the difficulties we faced, our riders remained motivated and were always grateful for whatever support we got.
"We have to thank Helaz (cycling team) for their support. They helped us the most, especially with our accommodations and some food. We also thank Lokka (equipment brand) for supporting us, they sent us rims overnight when Fitrah broke hers.
"We are also grateful to the cycling groups and individuals from around Putrajaya and Dengkil for donating foodstuff and also money to us so the riders could eat."
Alfizar is arguably the most respected women's coach in Malaysian cycling. She is credited with discovering and guiding track cyclist Izzah Izzati Asri during her formative years.
Izzah has since won three Asian Championships gold medals and has qualified for the Paris Olympics.