NATIONAL track cycling coach John Beasley is relieved that the Tokyo Olympics has been postponed to next year.
With the news, the Australian can now prepare his charges, Azizulhasni Awang and Shah Firdaus Sahrom, accordingly for the challenge.
The International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympics had jointly agreed to postpone the Games, initially scheduled in July, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both Azizulhasni and Shah are currently training indoors in Melbourne.
“The pressure of preparing for the Games has been lifted off our shoulders for now.
“It was beginning to be quite stressful as we were being locked out of our training venues.”
Beasley added: “When you are preparing for the biggest competition of your life and cannot train accordingly, it places all sorts of stress on both athletes and staff.”
Beasley disclosed that his team of staff had scrambled to move essential training equipment into both Azizulhasni and Shah’s residences just before the Australian government enforced stricter lockdown regulations.
Azizulhasni shared a video of himself training indoors on a high-tech Wattbike recently.
Wattbikes, which can accurately measure power output and other key metrics essential to cycling, have become de-rigueur for elite cyclists when it comes to indoor training. Fadhli Ishak