KUALA LUMPUR: National track cycling head coach John Beasley believes his young charges' performances at the Asian Track Cycling Championships (ACC), which concluded in New Delhi yesterday, showed great potential.
Beasley said the youngsters are being groomed for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics (LA2028) and are showing positive progress.
Malaysia finished third in the overall ACC medal table with two gold, two silver and three bronze.
"I think overall we had some great results though we are under no illusion of where we are currently at," said Beasley yesterday.
"We have a very young team and our goals are to prepare them for LA2028.
"The past six days showed you the talent we are building and developing. This young team showed you a little of what is to come. We just need to keep building, slow and steady."
Izzah Izzati Asri, 20, was the standout performer for Malaysia with two gold from the keirin and 500m time trial, one silver in the team sprint with Aliana Azizan and Anis Amira Rosidi as well as bronze in the individual sprint.
Beasley, however, is careful to not place too much expectations on Izzah at this stage of her career.
"Izzah is a project that is making good progress. We still have a lot of work to put into her in order to continue her upward progression," he said.
"I do not want her to wear (the hopes of) the country on her shoulders yet.
"We are doing our best to keep her life balanced and improve her performance at the same rate."
Anis, 26, also did well to claim bronze in the keirin.
On the men's side, youngsters Ridwan Sahrom and Umar Hasbullah, who linked up with the more senior Fadhil Zonis, did well to claim silver in the men's team sprint.
Ridwan, 22, did well to place fourth in the men's 1km time trial, missing out on the bronze by less than a 10th of a second, and also made the keirin final.
"Very happy with Ridwan, he is a talent that is coming along nicely," said Beasley.
"He was not supposed to ride the keirin or the time trial, though Fadhil got sick here in India (and had to withdraw). Ridwan really stood up."
Ridwan's elder brother Shah, 29, claimed bronze in the individual sprint but failed to make the final of the keirin after being forced out of contention in his second round heat due to unsporting tactics employed by one of the riders in the race.
Azizulhasni Awang, whose main focus this year is the Paris Olympics, chose to sit out ACC.
Japan emerged the overall ACC champions with a 15-2-1 haul thanks to their dominance in the endurance events. China came in second on 4-8-2.
The national riders' next major assignment will be the Hong Kong leg of the UCI Track Nations Cup on March 15-17.
