Saturday, July 30, 2011

Hafiz takes different road in Chiangmai

THERE will be a new beginning for Hafiz Sufian after he was dropped from the chase for a place in the elite track cycling squad under the Road to London programme.

The 25-year-old leaves for Chiangmai next week as part of the national road squad under coach Graham Seers.

Hafiz will be looking to re-establish himself in road cycling after more than seven years as a track sprinter. It will be a daunting task, but one that the Selangor rider is ready to take on.

"The management had a meeting on Thursday to discuss our Sea Games medal prospects and I'm initially with the team that are headed to Chiangmai for a month of training," said Hafiz.

"There have been suggestions for me to go back to track events momentarily for the Sea Games, to compete in the omnium. But that hasn't been confirmed.

"Whatever it is, it looks like I'll have to shift towards road cycling. After having focused on track events for so long, it is going to be hard to get myself up to producing results. It will take time, but I'm ready to put in hardwork."

Hafiz and Rizal Tisin's departure from the Road to London programme has trimmed the prospects for next year's Olympic Games.

Keirin World No 1 Azizul Hasni Awang and Fatehah Mustapa are the ones most likely to qualify.

The National Sports Council and Malaysian National Cycling Federation also hope veteran Josiah Ng and Adiq Husainie Othman will step into the picture. -- ARNAZ M. KHAIRUL

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