PETALING JAYA: Kimbeley Yap’s hopes of becoming the first Malaysian athlete to compete in three different sports in the SEA Games series have been dashed.
The two-time SEA Games gold medallist is out of the women’s road cycling squad for the competitions in Laos in December after undergoing surgery to correct a slipped disc last month.
Coach Mohd Shari Mohd Noor said that there was not enough time for Kimbeley to make a full recovery.
Unfit for Laos: Kimbeley underwent surgery to correct a slipped disc last month. “She needs time to get back to bike training and it is unsure whether we can push her in less than two months before the Games. It’s better for her to get well fully from the surgery,” he said.
Kimbeley earned a place in the squad for the Laos Games after winning the gold medal in the women’s road individual time trial at the Mini Olympic Games in Putrajaya in August.
The second Malaysia entry for the event at the Laos Games is Mariana Mohamad. With Kimbeley out, Noor Azian Alias will be the replacement rider and she will also be leading the Malaysian squad in the road race.
Noor Azian won the road race gold medal at the 2005 Manila SEA Games and took silver in the 2007 Asian championship.
“Noor Azian and Mariana left recently for Melbourne to join the national track cyclists based there.
They will be training under John Beasley,” said Shari.
The others in the women’s road cycling squad for the Laos Games are Masziyaton Mohd Radzi, Nurul Ahmar Badeuzzaman and Nurfarahdini Zakaria.
Kimbeley said that she has more or less resigned to her fate.
“I was not sure whether I should go or not in the first place. There is no point if I am not fit and cannot give a good challenge and at the same time take care not to push too hard,” she said.
“My back is okay now after rehabilitation compared to the first two weeks when I could not drive or get out of bed. But it is the nerves on the leg muscles that are giving me problems and they take time to heal.”
Kimbeley, a SEA Games medallist in swimming, won the triathlon gold medal in the 2005 and 2007 Games.
Triathlon is not in the programme of the Laos Games and only road cycling events will be contested in Vientiane, offering four gold medals.
No comments:
Post a Comment