NILAI, Nov 23 — The country’s prominent road race cyclist Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir is set to become the first woman cyclist to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics after the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) named her for the slot awarded to the country by the International Cycling Union (UCI).

MNCF Road Racing committee chairman Norazman Abu Samah said Nur Aisyah, 26, was selected during a special meeting held at the National Velodrome today, based on her ranking and consistent performance.

“She (Nur Aisyah) is the country’s most consistent rider and we (MNCF) hope she will live up to our hope. We also hope that under the guidance of coach Amir Mustafa Rusli who has seen action during the 2012 London Olympics, Nur Aisyah will be able to deliver good results.

“Apart from Nur Aisyah, we will also submit a list riders, including Phi Kun Pan (winner of the gold medal at the Asian Under-23 Women’s Championship), to prepare for the Olympics in Paris. This is like a dream come true for us when informed about the slot being awarded to the country,” he told reporters here today.

Norazman hoped the MNCF’s preparations for the Olympics, especially to initiate a comprehensive training programme for Nur Aisyah, will receive strong support from the National Sports Council (NSC) and the Youth and Sports Ministry, including sending the cyclist for exposure in Europe.

Nur Aisyah from Terengganu, won two silver medals in the individual and team road race events and a bronze in criterium during the Hanoi SEA Games last year as well as two bronze medals from the Cambodia SEA Games in May this year, through the individual mass start and criterium events.

In the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held in China from September 23 to October 8, Nur Aisyah finished the mass start event in 11th spot and also finished among the top 10 riders at the Tour of Biwase Vietnam 2023 and Tour of Thailand in 2022 and 2023.

Norazman added that Siti Nur Adibah Akma Mohd Fuad, Kun Pan and Yeong Zhen Yi were the other riders who were shortlisted by the MNCF for the slot before Nur Aisyah was picked at the meeting that was also represented by the NSC and state associations.

Meanwhile, UCI Management Committee member Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill said Malaysia were awarded the slot based on the country’s status as the number two ranked country in Asia and among countries that did not qualify for the Olympics on merit through the Asia Road Racing Championships in Thailand, held last June.

The last time Malaysian cyclists featured in the road racing programme of the Olympics was during the 2012 London Olympics when Muhammad Adiq Hussainie Othman and Amir Mustafa competed in the road racing events. — Bernama