KUALA LUMPUR: After travelling the globe competing and training for the last 30 years, cyclist Josiah Ng wants to kick-start youth development in Malaysia.
And it would be done 'virtually'.
Josiah aims to penetrate schools with his virtual bikes, and collect data on promising students before the National Sports Council (NSC) take over the job of grooming them.
Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and NSC director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail were at the launch of Josiah’s sprint training camp in Kota Damansara yesterday.
"I have been in the United States, Australia, Switzerland as well as Japan training and living my dream for about 30 years, and now, I am back to help the nation unearth promising cyclists with a virtual programme.
"We will have a six-week training camp (March 5-April 11) at our studio here and I will be at hand at every session to help budding athletes as well as those who want to train like professionals," said Josiah yesterday.
Syed Saddiq praised Josiah for his efforts to help Malaysian cycling.
"At last year’s Indonesia Asian Games, I sat next to Josiah and even though he was coaching Thailand cyclists then, he still cheered and supported Malaysia when Thai riders were not on track.
"He is passionate and I believe this virtual programme can collect data on promising students and give us a bigger pool of talent in the future," said Saddiq.
Josiah's eight-week school programme will start with eight elite schools with one cyclist each.
"Since we are starting in Kuala Lumpur, eight athletes from eight elite schools will be selected to undergo virtual training for eight weeks.
"After which, we plan to make inroads in rural areas as well," said the three-time Olympian.
As Thailand's coach, Josiah turned his rider Jai Angsuthasawit into a champion at last year’s Asian Games at the expense of Malaysia's favourite Azizulhasni Awang, who could only manage a bronze in the keirin.
And since Malaysia already have a national coach in John Beasley, Josiah wants to concentrate on development.
“We already have a national coach, and the elite programme I started in Australia is also going strong. So I will concentrate on development for now,”
Those who are interested can visit https://www.velostudio.cc/home for more details on the programme.