Kuala lumpur: The Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) is targeting two medals for the national track cycling squad at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, scheduled to take place from July 23 to Aug 2. MNCF president Datuk Amarjit Singh said the country's medal hopes would rest on national track cycling stars Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom in the men's keirin event, as well as Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri in the women's 1km time trial at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Amarjit stated that the federation had set a target of two medals without specifying their colours to avoid placing excessive pressure on the national cyclists as they carry the country's hopes at the quadrennial Games in Scotland. "I do not think it is fair for me to state something (a specific target) and put pressure on the athletes. As I mentioned before, I once said we would win a gold medal at Paris 2024 (Olympic Games), and I think that created pressure. So I will only say two medals, without mentioning the colour. I think that is fairer for the team, so as not to place any additional pressure on them," he said after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between MNCF and the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation here today.
Without excessive pressure on the cyclists' shoulders, Amarjit is confident they can give their best in their mission to make the country proud at the Commonwealth Games. Based on updates received from national cycling squad technical director John Beasley, Amarjit said the cyclists' preparations were progressing smoothly and they were ready to take on the Commonwealth Games challenge soon.
A total of 59 athletes, including national para athletes, will compete in eight of the 10 sports contested at Glasgow 2026, including swimming, track cycling, athletics, weightlifting, and lawn bowls, as well as six para sports held as integrated events. Malaysia won seven gold, eight silver, and eight bronze medals at the 2022 edition in Birmingham. Muhammad Shah Firdaus was the sole Malaysian track cyclist to contribute a medal, winning bronze in the men's keirin at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile, Amarjit said the MoU reflected both parties' commitment to strengthening cooperation in various aspects of cycling development, including athlete and coach exchanges, development of technical officials and commissaires, coaching education, high-performance programmes, and training camp organisation. Kazakhstan Cycling Federation secretary-general Zhetes Sulemanov welcomed the cooperation and expressed confidence that it would benefit both parties.