An "expensive and painful lesson" for Fatehah

In conclusion, Fatehah Mustapa was not in her element during this Keirin competition. She was nervous and she was not focused on the job at hand. She hesitated and was overwhelmed by the whole situation. She is only 23 years old, she has a good four years to qualify for the next Olympics and made good her failure here in London.

That summed up national cyclists Fatehah Mustapa's debut at the London Olympics - as per a report by team cycling leader Naim Mohamad.

Nevertheless, Fatehah ought to be credited for qualifying to the Summer Games as others continue to struggle to do so. One wonders what coach John Beasley has got to say about the report below. 

Women’s Keirin Report

3rd August, 2012 at 4-00 pm

Olympic Velodrome, Olympic Park.

Eighteen riders contested the Women’s Keirin on day two of the Track Cycling programme at the London 2012 Olympics on Friday 3rd of August, 2012.

Great Britain’s Victoria Pendleton won the inaugural Gold Medal for the Women’s Keirin. World Champion Anna Meares hit the front as the derny left the track, however it was Pendleton who quickly took control as Meares faded to finish fifth and Pendleton hung to take Gold from a fast finishing Guo Shang of China and Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong.

Malaysian cyclist Fatehah Mustapa rode the second heat of the Keirin event together with Anna Meares, Victoria Pendleton, Willy Kanis, Natasha Hansen and Lyubov Shulika. First two riders qualify for the second round and the rest go for repechages. Fatehah finished fourth behind Victoria Pendleton, Anna Meares and Natasha Hansen.

In the repechages, Fatehah was drawn in the second heat together with Clara Sanchez, Lee Hyejin,  Natasha Hansen,  Lyubov Shulika and Daniela Grelui Larreal. Three riders go through the second round and Fatehah Mustapa finished fifth.

In the first round second heat, Fatehah rode well but was overpowered by Victoria Pendleton and Anna Meares. In the repechages heat, she was not in the race and her mind was somewhere instead of concentrating in the tussle for the three positions. She was positioned second behind the derny and hesitated to move when the other riders make their way forward. She was boxed in until turn three of the final lap when she managed to come out but was already too late. There is nothing that she can do from such a position that she got herself into for not moving out swiftly when she should.

It is a very expensive and painful lesson for Fatehah and it will certainly be very valuable for her future endeavours.

In conclusion, Fatehah Mustapa was not in her element during this Keirin competition. She was nervous and she was not focussed on the job at hand. She hessisated and was overwhelmed by the whole situation. She is only 23 years old, she has a good four years to qualify for the next Olympics and made good her failure here in London.

We commended her for being the first Malaysian women cyclist to qualify for the Olympics and maybe we expect a bit too much from her first exposure. The expectation was not overly ambitious because in the world cup rounds previously, she had beaten the Gold, Silver and Bronze medallist of this year’s Olympics. We had high hopes but unfortunately she did not measure up. She deserve all the support and assistance in her stride to glorify Malaysian women cyclist at the Olympics.

Naim Mohamad

Cycling Team Leader

HD says: Here's hoping for a different outcome in 2016.