My big hopes

I was sent this video by Fairoz Izni Abdul Ghani, the former national sprinter who was supposed to be in Beijing, riding the team sprint, until he was forced into early retirement two years ago.
Shows how much hope all of us in the Malaysian cycling fraternity have for those four warriors we sent to Beijing.

Professionally, I've been honoured enough to have covered the likes of Rizal Tisin, Azizul Hasni Awang and Edrus Yunus from the beginning of their careers. And Josiah Ng, since seven years ago. Somehow I've always sensed that of all my stories, of all the pleasure I've had previously in doing my job, THIS is the part of my career that I'll tirelessly tell our grandchildren about.
I remember all those times when me and my 'tag-team' partner Zairee Zahir of Berita Harian sat on the banks of the KL Velodrome, awaiting the stories of our cycling future being charted by the likes of this new generation. I've been honoured enough to share my views and thoughts with Josiah on his visits back home over the years as he slowly and surely drew up the path which our sprinters were to take. And it sure looks like they're destined for greatness.
I watched and wrote as Azizul rose from the SportExcel National Junior Circuit, Edrus too, Rizal and Junaidi Nasir came earlier. Funny, but in those days when they were little kids trying to make it happen on bikes, I felt like a celebrity whenever I was present at the track squad's training sessions, especially those under Rosman Alwi, which I really enjoyed watching. All of them would say hi and I'd be asked to join them for a drink after training at the KL Velodrome foodcourt.
But times have changed and those kids have become global stars like we always wanted. These days, I'm out chasing them down, trying to catch them whenever I can for the simplest of stories. Well, I can't complain, because this is how we all want it to be. Malaysia with track stars to match any rider on earth. And I can tell you with positive confidence that this is what we have now, although if you wait a couple of more years, there'll be more.
Been waiting for this crowning moment. And I hope with all my heart it begins to happen right there in Beijing, before the scheduled hit in London 2012.
Already, I feel nothing more than pride for this cycling team. I'm proud to have been there, even if only to watch as they grew into the powerhouses they are now. We can pin our hopes, even if it is the thinnest of hopes, on Azizul and Josiah in the keirin, the Pocket Rocket Azizul again in the 200m sprint and Azizul, Josiah and Rizal in the team sprint.
And all we can say now is: Go boys! Make our dreams come true!