PETALING JAYA: Two years ago, mountain biker Masziyaton Mohd Radzi sprang a surprise when she bagged the bronze medal in her debut in the cross-country event at the Laos SEA Games.
Now, the 23-year-old believes she has all the elements to upgrade her medal to a gold in the Indonesia Games. The mountain bike competitions will be held in Bogor near Jakarta from Nov 11-14.
It has been a good year for Masziyaton thus far as she clinched the national mountain bike title in Tampin in July. She also had a good run in the national road race in June where she finished second to Kimbeley Yap.
Worked up: Masziyaton Mohd Radzi is hoping her form will translate into a gold medal. Also in June, Masziyaton finished a creditable 10th in the Asian mountain bike championships in Jiangsu, China.
The best South-East Asian rider in the women’s competition was Dinh Thi Nu Quynh of Vietnam in seventh spot.
But her strong performance in the Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge last month was true indication that the Kedahan is peaking nicely to grab the coveted gold in Bogor.
She finished sixth in the 60.6km cross-country event against strong competitors like eventual winner and world number eight Nathalie Schneitter of Switzerland.
“I hope to translate my form into a gold medal winning performance in Indonesia. In my debut in Laos, I was beaten by Vietnam (Nguyen Thanh Dam) and Thai (Srisuwan Hataichanok) cyclists who won the gold and silver respectively.
“I have matured a lot since then and I really hope to nail the gold this time,” she said.
Masziyaton will compete in the cross-country event with Sarawakian Junaidah Juss.
But having set herself such a high target, Masziyaton admitted that she is beginning to feel the pressure.
“I’m not exactly falling apart but I get a bit worried when I’m alone and start thinking about my chances in Indonesia. I guess that’s normal for every athlete.
“As far as training is concerned, everything is fine and I’m just maintaining my fitness for the competition now,” she said.
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Now, the 23-year-old believes she has all the elements to upgrade her medal to a gold in the Indonesia Games. The mountain bike competitions will be held in Bogor near Jakarta from Nov 11-14.
It has been a good year for Masziyaton thus far as she clinched the national mountain bike title in Tampin in July. She also had a good run in the national road race in June where she finished second to Kimbeley Yap.
Worked up: Masziyaton Mohd Radzi is hoping her form will translate into a gold medal.The best South-East Asian rider in the women’s competition was Dinh Thi Nu Quynh of Vietnam in seventh spot.
But her strong performance in the Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge last month was true indication that the Kedahan is peaking nicely to grab the coveted gold in Bogor.
She finished sixth in the 60.6km cross-country event against strong competitors like eventual winner and world number eight Nathalie Schneitter of Switzerland.
“I hope to translate my form into a gold medal winning performance in Indonesia. In my debut in Laos, I was beaten by Vietnam (Nguyen Thanh Dam) and Thai (Srisuwan Hataichanok) cyclists who won the gold and silver respectively.
“I have matured a lot since then and I really hope to nail the gold this time,” she said.
Masziyaton will compete in the cross-country event with Sarawakian Junaidah Juss.
But having set herself such a high target, Masziyaton admitted that she is beginning to feel the pressure.
“I’m not exactly falling apart but I get a bit worried when I’m alone and start thinking about my chances in Indonesia. I guess that’s normal for every athlete.
“As far as training is concerned, everything is fine and I’m just maintaining my fitness for the competition now,” she said.
THE STAR
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