Skip to main content

Cyclist Rizal faces uphill climb to regain form


Filepic shows Mohd Rizal Tisin in the 1km time trial event at the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games where he won a bronze medal. He's training to get back into track cycling form with an eye on the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Filepic shows Mohd Rizal Tisin in the 1km time trial event at the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games where he won a bronze medal. He's training to get back into track cycling form with an eye on the 2016 Olympics in Rio. 

KUALA LUMPUR: Track cyclist Rizal Tisin will have a mountain to climb to regain the form that saw him land the bronze medal at the World Championships in Pruszkow, Poland, in 2009.
After spending time off the track since 2011 to focus on BMX, Rizal made a full return to the velodrome in June with an eye on the Rio Olympics in 2016.

However, the 29-year-old will have a lot of catching up to do judging by his performance in the Track Asia Cup in Bangkok on Oct 4-6 where he finished sixth in the 1km time trial in 1:08.645.
His best time ā€“ 1:01.658, which is still the national record ā€“ was clocked in Pruszkow.

ā€œI know there are still tons to be done but Iā€™m slowly gaining momentum. But I need to go back to Melbourne in order to get back to my previous form,ā€ he said.

The core of the national track cycling team, including Azizulhasni Awang and Josiah Ng, is based in Melbourne and training under coach John Beasley.

ā€œI didnā€™t expect a lot in Bangkok because I knew I still hadnā€™t hit top form yet. But I trained hard for it, nonetheless,ā€ said Rizal.

ā€œI was only targeting 1:10 because it was my first overseas competition since returning to training ... but clocking 1:08 is a good start.

ā€œBut I need the specific and intensive training in Melbourne under John. My actual targets are the Asian Games (Incheon) and Commonwealth Games (Glasgow) next year.ā€



The Star

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ex-coach's jail sentence cut to a year

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal yesterday sentenced former athletics coach C. Ramanathan to 12 months' jail for molesting two junior athletes 19 years ago. A three-man bench led by Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus unanimously dismissed Ramanathan's appeal against conviction, but varied the jail sentence of four years to a year, which was to run concurrently. Following yesterday's ruling, Ramanathan, 75, a former teacher, walked out a free man as he had served 10 months in Kajang Prison. Convicts get one-third remission for good behaviour while in prison. However, he will lose his pension. Hishamudin, who sat with Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail and Datuk Linton Albert, said the court found no merit to overturn the conviction. "However, in reducing the sentence, we considered Ramanathan's age and the long years the appeal has taken." Deputy public prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud submitted that then High Court judge Tan Sri Abdull Hamid E...

Govt Always Gives Emphasis To Sporting Culture, Says PM

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 29 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badaw i said the government always gives emphasis on cultivating a strong sporting culture in achieving excellence at the international level. As such, the Prime Minister said, it was important to scout for young talents in sports. "I observe that the Malaysia Games (Sukma) has become one of the important platforms to do so. "In this arena, the potentials and skills of the youngsters can be identified for development so that they can achieve greater success in sports," he said in his message in the souvenir book of the 12th Sukma from May 31 until June 9. Abdullah said he was aware that competition in sports was very keen and challenging but this did not mean that Malaysian athletes were incapable of competing at the international level. "The fact is that we have all the characteristics required to be excellent. We must inculcate a strong fighting spirit so that we don't easily surrender,...

Chance to catch Messi and company

  FAM deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and vice president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin with FC Barcelona chief executive officer Antoni Rossich yesterday. Pic by Osman Adnan LIONEL Messi's presence alone could sell half the tickets despite reigning world club champions FC Barcelona's date with a Malaysian XI at the National Stadium on Aug 10 falling on the third day of Hari Raya. The much anticipated visit of the four-time European champions comes with expectations from fans who want a full star-studded line-up. "The summer will be a busy period with a lot of uncertainty with players moving away and coming in. "But yes, our plans are to bring our full team here," said FC Barcelona chief executive officer Antoni Rossich yesterday. Rossich was speaking at the announcement of the friendly match, which is part of the three-match FC Barcelona Asia Tour 2013, which sees the giants also visiting China and Thailand. Also pre...