Commonwealth Games: Shah Firdaus halted in men's sprint quarters after velodrome chaos delays race

Shah Firdaus Sahrom could not add another Commonwealth Games medal to his personal tally after losing in the men's sprint quarter-finals on Sunday.

The 26-year-old cyclist, who won a bronze medal in the men's keirin event on Saturday, was defeated by Australia's Matthew Richardson, who had won gold in the men's team sprint event earlier, over three races at the Lee Valley VeloPark.

He was the only Malaysian male cyclist to reach this far after both Ridwan Sahrom and Fadhil Zonis failed to make it out of the qualifying stage.

In the quarter-finals, Shah Firdaus easily surrendered the first race by finishing 6.355s behind Richardson before bouncing in the second race, winning by the slightest of margin to take the contest to a deciding third race.

However, the highly anticipated showdown was delayed by several hours due to a huge crash in the men's scratch qualifying race.

Nuts #velodrome #crash #cycling #CommonwealthGames pic.twitter.com/KkPxZzSjhC
— Freddie King (@Freddie12989163) July 31, 2022

Three cyclists were reportedly taken to hospital, while two spectators were treated on the spot.

When the competition resumed later, Shah Firdaus gave it his all but Richardson managed to cross the line faster by 0.067s.