KUALA LUMPUR: Track cyclist Shah Firdaus Sahrom believes he was not to blame for the crash that took out Japan's Shinji Nakano, Great Britain's Jack Carlin and himself during the men's keirin final at the Paris Olympics yesterday.
Shah said that although he moved towards Nakano at the final bend - where the crash occurred - he did not impede the latter's sprint line at the Saint Quentin en Yvelines Velodrome.
Nakano reacted and made contact with Shah. The duo crashed and subsequently took out Carlin in the process.
Shah was still able to cross the line fourth but was later relegated to sixth by the commissaires who judged him to be at fault.
"It may have looked close but I was in my line and did not enter anybody's sprint lane," said Shah today.
"But I don't blame Shinji because he, too, was in survival mode. It was a very fast race and he didn't mean it. He was tired and he probably panicked.
"I hope Malaysians will not condemn him (on social media) because it will affect us national riders as well. It would cause us to be embarassed when we meet them (foreign riders)."
A dejected Shah added that crashing within 100 metres of the finish line and with a medal in sight was a bitter pill to swallow.
"I felt really confident going into the final day, my legs felt great and in fact, I had already prepared my things to go on the podium (medal presentation ceremony)," said Shah.
"I felt that I was pushing the pedals exceptionally well in the final and during the (final) corner I saw that I was already half-a-bike ahead of Japan, which meant I was essentially on the podium already.
"But then I felt my rear tyre get hit (by Nakano) and I went flying. I ended up sliding right until the finish line which shows just how close it was to the end.
"The rider who had already given up (Malcolm Glaetzer) ended up third. I can't tell you how frustrated I am.
"In terms of my own performance during the games, I can say I am satisfied, however, the final was hard for me to accept."
Shah had done well to set a new 200 metre record in the men's individual sprint qualifying round on Wednesday.
His run to the final of the keirin is also an improvement over Tokyo 2020 when he exited the competition at the quarterfinal stage.
Shah was Malaysia's last hope for a medal in track cycling following Azizulhasni Awang's disqualification in the keirin on Saturday.
Azizulhasni - the sixth rider behind the derny - was judged to have overtaken the derny before it left the track during his first round heat.
Chef de mission Datuk Hamidin Amin confirmed that Malaysia filed an appeal following Azizulhasni's disqualification but were unable to overturn the decision.