Mustapa ready for Olympic spotlight

Getty Images / Getty Images AsiaPac

Malaysian cyclist Fatehah Mustapa is set to become the first Malaysian woman to compete in Olympic track cycling at the upcoming Olympic games in London.

Noah Tan
Fatehah's precocious talent was on show at the recent 2012 Asian Cycling Championships, as the 23-year-old won a Bronze in the 500metres Time trial, Silver in the Sprint event and more impressively, a Gold medal in the Keirin category.
Her win at the Asian Cycling Championships is the biggest win of her career till date; a sign that Fatehah is ready for the big stage.
These plaudits merely added on to the already impressive haul of three Gold medals in the 2011 SEA Games (500m time trial, sprint and team sprint), a testament to the remarkable transformation she has undergone in the past four years after landing Bronze at the 2007 SEA Games.
Fatehah's immense improvement is not lost on her cycling coach John Beasley who is already dreaming big for the upcoming Olympic Games in London.
"With her I think she's the secret weapon for the Olympics. I really believe she can medal at the Olympics." Beasley told ESPNews.
He added: "I'm very confident she's going to be an Olympic finalist in the Keirin, and certainly it wouldn't shock me if she was on the podium and she could be on the spot, that's how good she is."
Fatehah shares her coach's sentiments.
She is determined not to be in London just to make up the numbers and wants to bring back gold for her country. However, Fatehah is under no illusions as to what is required in order for her Olympic dreams to come true.
She said: "I'm looking for it - but if I'm lucky because Keirin is a little hard."
"For now my performance is fine. But I need more power and strength - because my coach said I need more power and strength - I need to work hard."
Victory at the Olympics will require Fatehah to overcome several other top cyclists in the world, one of whom is the legendary Australian Anna Meares.
Meares, who has won 10 World Championship Gold medals, is something of an inspiration to Fatehah and to finally be able to compete against her 'heroine' will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the Olympics for the Malaysian.
Fatehah gushed: "I like to watch Anna Meares from Australia and Victoria Pendleton from England. They are really good."
 Despite having represented Malaysia in other major cycling events, Fatehah recognises that the Olympics will be her biggest test to date and she hopes the memories of her first Olympic participation will be positive.
She said: "I'm very excited - I'm scared because this is my first time for really big games. Hopefully I can do better than during the World Cup and the Asian Championships."
Talented, dilligent and ambitious, Fatehah may just have what it takes to bring home the Gold