KUALA LUMPUR: The national squad's first World Championships in a post-Datuk Azizulhasni Awang era did not yield any spectacular results though there were at least some glimpses of potential at the world meet which concluded in Denmark yesterday.
Izzah Izzati Asri, who just turned 21 last month, achieved a breakthrough performance at the global level, finishing a commendable seventh in the women's keirin at the Ballerup Super Arena velodrome yesterday.
Previously, Izzah did not make it past the first round at last year's World Championships, when she made her debut, as well as her first Olympics (Paris) in August.
Izzah, who already has three Asian Championships gold medals to her name, has been tipped as a future star and could, with time and the right support, bloom into a generational talent.
Earlier last week, she lost in the first round (round of 1/16) of the women's individual sprint in a controversial manner. The Kedahan hit the line first in her race against Germany's Alessa-Catriona Propster on Thursday (Oct 17) but was later relegated.
The commissaire deemed that Izzah had not held her line during the final sprint.
The decision did not go down well with national track cycling programme technical director John Beasley, who stressed the need for there to be independent and better qualified adjudicators in the sport.
"Izzah had a great championships, to finish seventh in the keirin was a great way to end her campaign in Ballerup," said Beasley today.
"Of course we were hoping to get (her) onto the podium though that will have to wait until next year.
"Last year Izzah did not get out of the first round at her first world championships, twelve months later she has made the Olympics and finished off the year with a great seventh placing in the keirin.
"She should have been 10th in the individual sprint if not for a really poor decision from the chief commissaire."
Izzah's teammate Anis Amira Rosidi, 26, did not make it past the first round of the keirin and the individual sprint.
Shah Firdaus Sahrom, 28, who has the unenviable task of filling the shoes of the now-retired Azizulhasni - the latter himself "passed the baton" to Shah - did not have an outstanding outing by his standards.
Azizulhasni, a former keirin world champion and two-time Olympic medallist, retired from the national team after the Paris Olympics.
Shah had been given roughly three weeks off from training after the Paris Olympics. He was suffering from a virus picked up during the flight to Denmark and subsequently had a high fever going into the tournament.
Shah would reach the men's keirin semi-finals - finishing ninth overall - but did not make it past the first round of the men's individual sprint.
Beasley, however, defended the Commonwealth and Asian Games bronze medallist' performances.
"Shah was mentally spent after a tough couple of years leading into Paris and he needed to have a break and spend some time with his family to reset," said Beasley.
"He has sacrificed a lot over the past two years in the pursuit of excellence so his performance was solid, all things considered.
"He achieved the target of reaching the semi-finals in the keirin but his performance in the sprint showed the lack of training and effects of the virus he had after the flight to Denmark."
Shah's younger brother Ridwan, 23, did not make it past the first round repechage in the keirin in Ballerup though came very close to breaking the 10s barrier for the first time after clocking 10.004s in the men's individual sprint qualifiers.
"Ridwan is still young and is coming along nicely though is not quite at this (world) level yet, though he is not far off," added Beasley.
The national squad's next major assignment will be the Asian Championships which will be held at National Velodrome, Nilai in February.