Well, I figured I'd become no lesser known for the little words I'd scribbled on cycling.
Today, before speeding off for the office, as usual I'd drive by the BHP station near my home in SS14, Subang Jaya, and just rushed through the sports pages of all the papers. And I felt like crap!
It didn't happen during my Raya break, but it had to happen today, the day I get back to work!!!
Berita Harian and Kosmo! carried a story about Rizal Tisin taking leave to find a job, as the Asian 1km time trial champ is feeling insecure about his future.
Damn, my fault... I shouldn't have listened to Rizal when he told me about three weeks ago not to write this. He'd confided in me, asking me if I could maybe help him find a job with the Police or some Government agency, something that would give him a sense of security while he trained to win a medal at the 2012 Olympics. "Kau jangan masuk paper pulak.. Ini aku cite kat kau je." Cilaka lu Rizal, sekarang semua paper keluar cerita, aku sorang pulak yang miss!!!
Well, he'd deliberately missed the flight to Melbourne, which was boarded by Azizul Hasni Awang, Edrus Yunus, Junaidi Nasir and Fatehah Mustapa, as they're to prepare for the World Cup series which starts next month.
That tells you something doesn't it.. When a story falls on your lap, write it. Write it because it is your job to write, not to listen! Lucky this wasn't the early days of my journalism career, or I'd be gobbled up and spat down the drain by Mr. Lazarus Rokk, and God save me from the wrath of our former GE Datuk Ahmad Talib, if he happened to take note. I would be as good as dead!
Nowadays, I don't have to worry too much about the bosses walloping me, but nevertheless it feels like s**t to have missed a story.
Then got to the office, did some work and colleague Devinder Singh told me Bernama carried a report that Lance Armstrong is coming to Le Tour de Langkawi next year!!!! By now, ... phew!! I felt like I'd been shat on by a proboscis monkey. The world was caving in!
This too I'd had earlier notification about. Well, this isn't as serious as Rizal's story. Because I'd found out from LTdL chief operating officer Datuk Naim Mohamad that he's trying to bring Lance to Malaysia. He sent Lance a letter.
Well, I thought to myself those two weeks ago, I could send Barrack Obama an invitation for him to attend my next birthday party too.. Something like that. You get what I mean!!! Well, tell me when he's confirmed he'll be coming...
Lance took a substantial amount of US$ some Million.... He took that to be the ambassador for the Tour of Korea last year, only (according to Korean cyclist Park Sung Baek) to turn up late for functions, press conferences, dinner and everything that came as his itenerary while in Korea. So, LTdL, with a slashed contribution from the Government and the MNCF struggling to raise enough to even maintain the number of stages, that looks unlikely.
I guess the Bernama bro spun it his way... Made it as so: "Kehadiran ikon lumba basikal dunia yang juga juara tujuh kali Tour De France, Lance Armstrong akan merupakan salah satu tarikan pada perlumbaan berbasikal Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) tahun depan yang akan diadakan dari 9 hingga 15 Febuari."
Lance is gonna re-start his career in the Tour Down Under... Well, the Tour Down Under is a Pro Tour race... Le Tour de Langkawi a UCI Asia Tour race... Difference..
Anyway, still wasn't the best of days.... Not good to make a return after 2 weeks of relaxed, doing little lifestyle...... Should have stuck a little longer to doing something.
7 comments:
Hmmm....! Kenapa begitu pulak Rizal? Apa apa pun Rizal mesti jelaskan apa jua masallah yang terbelengu di hati nya.Kalau Lance lumba di LTDL itu berita baiklah untuk sukan lumba basikal di negara kita.Mahal juga harga nya..?
Hahahahahha it's normal to get scooped once in a while. sometimes we compromise on certain things when it involves athletes who we also consider as friends. Most of them do not have someone they can consider confidantes, that is why they opt to cry on our shoulders. when they do so, they tell us "off the record ah" but weeks later you read it in the papers and when you tell your colleagues you knew about it weeks earlier they will say "ya lah, ya lah". Anyway what's up with my better known namesake? I thought athletes of Olympic calibre do not have to worry about job security?!!!!
Geng PLBD Dungun,
Aku rasa Rizal perlu masa sikit untuk berfikir sendiri dan tentukan hala tuju dirinya sendiri. Mungkin sekarang dia sendiri tak nampak sebab dia terlalu fokus dalam karier dia mengejar masa.
Lima tahun dulu, aku sendiri tak termimpi pun yang rider Malaysia boleh buat 1:02.571s dalam kilo. Gile babi tu!! Dulu may=t saleh je yang boleh buat time mcm tu. Skarang, budak kite, orang Kelang je, dah boleh buat.. Ranking no. 5 dalam dunia pulak tu! Aku percaya, kalau Rizal dah ambil masa dan percaya pada dirinya sendiri, 1:00.0s dan buat kali pertama, rider Asia belasah bawah seminit punya time, akan jadi kenyataan. Segalanya di tangan Rizal. Dialah harapan satu benua. Tapi dia sekarang mencari keyakinan yang tak jumpa di Melbourne.
Dia perlu yakin yang sukan berbasikal ini tidak akan menganiayakan dirinya. Kalau dia terfikir tentang masa depan, dan dia sendiri sayangkan sukan berbasikal ni, aku rasa dialah rider yang paling layak untuk menjadi jurulatih rider-rider kita yang akan datang.
Lebih baik kita biar Rizal buat keputusan sendiri. Umur dia pun dah 24 tahun. Kalau masa dia junior dulu, bolehlah kita cuba tunjuk jalan. Sekarang ni Rizal bukan budak kecik naik BMX lagi. Dia dah besar.
Dia tak rasa masa depannya terjamin. Bagi aku, masa depannya kalau di tangan sendiri, dia patut rasa lebih terjamin. Dia tak percaya pada dirinya sendiri. Itu masalah yang sebenarnya. Dia tak yakin yang, dengan izin Allah, dia akan selamat walau apapun terjadi.
dari tahun 70an, sampai lah 2008 ini lah perkara yg sama berlaku. welcome to 1970's. Lu pikir lah sendiri.
Kepada rizal ini pesanan abang2 senior, ingat " HABIS MADU, SEPAH DI BUANG"
Sebelum madu rizal habis, baik beringat.
Sekian, Terima Kasih. Majulah Sukan Untuk Negara.
Mudah mudahan begitulah seperti kenyataan arnaz tu.Sayang sekali jika terjadi sebaliknya. Doa kami di PLBD Dungun agar Rizal tidak mensia siakan kejayaan yang telah diraih....!!Sesungguhnya anda telah berjaya dengan cermerlang dalam bidang sukan berbasikal. Ayuh teruskan...! Maaf jika ada terkurang bahasa.Sekadar ingat mengingati sesama kita. Bersama kita majukan sukan berbasikal di negara kita.
tu lah...mkn lemang banyak sgt...sampai lupa kerja...
hmm...lagik topik menarik...rasa semua orang tahu dah....apa akan jadik pada seorang cyclist (bukan semua cyclist tapi rata2)...tapi mengapa kita mesti duduk and asyik menyalahkan orang sahaja?.."tu tak betul ni tak betul"...."dah agak dah"..."kalo aku jadik"..ni semua ayat takde penyudah sampai bila..apa apa pun....sekrang dah cycling dah start berubah kepada positif.
Unholy Alliance.
Unholy Alliance.
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