Beasley gets wish, Kamarul no longer handling cycling team
As published in Mailsport
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By Wan Noriza Meor Idris
wannoriza@mmail.com.ny
wannoriza@mmail.com.ny
KUALA
LUMPUR — National cycling coach John Beasley has got his wish. Kamarul
Aizad Othman, the special officer to Malaysian National Cycling
Federation (MNCF) president Datuk Abu Samah Abd Wahab, will no longer
handle team matters. Beasley said he would never forgive Aizad, who
nearly caused the team to miss the Asian Cycling Championships in Korat,
Thailand recently.
Aizad messed up the flight tickets and hotel
bookings which resulted in the team taking a later flight and staying in
a hotel more than 20km from the championship venue.
Despite
these problems, Azizulhasni Awang still won the Keirin event. It was his
ninth gold medal in the history of the championship — three as a junior
(2006 — sprint, 1km and Keirin), three Keirin titles (2007, 2008,
2015), two individual sprint crowns (2008, 2009) and one team sprint
victory (2009).
He broke the record he shared with South Korea's Jang
Sun-jae (eight golds) to be the most successful Asian cyclist.
"I'm glad
MNCF and NSC (National Sports Council) finally heard my pleas. I don't
want this kind of person (Aizad) involved with me or my team," said
Beasley, who revealed this was not the first time Aizad had messed up
travel arrangements.
"He has done a lot of damage. We want cycling to
bloom but he wasn't helping. "I will never ever forgive him. He made my
team suffer. They are representing the country and don't deserve this."
He was speaking after a five-hour meeting with NSC director-general
Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail, Abu Samah and MNCF deputy president Datuk
Naim Mohamad. It was decided Mohd Izham Mohamad, a sports performance
team leader in National Sports Institute, will now assist
Beasley. Beasley revealed MNCF agreed to reimburse him RM21,000 he paid
for travelling and accommodation at previous events.
"They didn't state
any specific date but it's a happy ending for me," he said.
Shapawi said
miscommunication was the main problem.
"We solved everything. We will
make sure it won't repeat for the sake of our athletes," he said.
Shapawi also confirmed former cyclist Josiah Ng declined to be team
manager for the Rio 2016 Olympics.
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