National track cycling queen Fatehah calls it a day

KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 -- National track cycling queen Fatehah Mustapa today announced her retirement after gracing the sport for 17 years.

She conveyed the sad message to her fans via her Facebook (Fatehah Mustapa) and Instagram (@fatehahmustapa) accounts.

“Assalamualaikum, dear all, firstly I want to say a massive thank you to all Malaysians for your endless support throughout my journey in my career. I have decided to retire as a cyclist after 17 years in this sport,” she said.

The 31-year-old cyclist also thanked the National Sports Council (NSC), National Sports Institute (NSI), Youth and Sports Ministry, Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) and Terengganu State Sports Council (MSNT).  

She also expressed her gratitude to former sponsors CIMB, Sime Darby, AirAsia, Tumi, Nike and Oakley for giving her the chance to develop her talents en route to achieving her dreams.

The cyclist, who hails from Kuala Terengganu, is proud to have made the team for the Olympic Games twice (2012 and 2016) and the honour of being the flag-bearer at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

“A million thanks to my family for believing in me and for supporting me till the end of my career. Thank you so much to my Melbourne-based team for everything. I’m so lucky to have a lovely family. 

“To the one and only person who has raised me for the past 11 years and who’s not just a coach but a father (John Beasley) who’s always there for his daughter through hard times and achievements, thank you so much for all your sacrifices for me,” she said.

During her career, she won various titles, including two gold medals at the Asian Cycling Championships, three SEA Games gold medals as well as a silver at the Asian Games.

-- BERNAMA