KUALA LUMPUR: Seeing national cyclist Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom often performing on the track, everyone will think of him as a committed and persistent person with his career as an athlete.
But who would have thought, the rider nicknamed ‘The Terminator Shah’ has hidden talents, that is not only good at playing the guitar, but also has a voice that is pleasing to the ears.
As the saying goes, ‘where does the gravy go if it’s not on the rice’, the proverb is suitable for Muhammad Shah who describes himself as inheriting the talent of his uncle, Rain, who was one of the members of the Rajawali music group, a famous group of musicians in the 90s.
The Muar-born athlete, who will compete in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in September, shared that he also has a studio at his home and often turns to playing the guitar and singing to relieve stress and fill his free time.
“I often play the guitar at home, my house in my village has a studio, I always spend time with my father and uncle in jamming sessions playing rock songs.
“I started playing music from a young age with my uncle because he was a musician, my father also had a band when he was young, maybe the blood of musicians flows in my body that’s why I’m interested,” he told Bernama recently.
Meantime, the 27-year-old said that apart from playing the guitar, he would always spend time cycling which he considered therapy when he is facing any stress.
“Outside of the track I will still ride my bike, happy or sad I will spend time to ride, because cycling really makes me feel relieved, sometimes I will go to the lake, river or coffee shop alone by riding a bike,” he said.
On his preparation for the Asian Games, Muhammad Shah said it is going well as he took advantage of the national series championship, the Yayasan Sime Darby Track series (YSDTS) at the Malaysian National Velodrome in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan recently to get ready for the quadrennial games.
Muhammad Shah also shared that he is now facing the problem of losing self-confidence since experiencing an accident that caused injuries while competing in the keirin event at the Asian Track Cycling Championship (ACC 2023) last June.
“I want to regain my confidence, because when I race too tightly I feel like I’m afraid of friction, because at the ACC I had an accident and I tried to avoid that kind of thing from happening, so I was too careful and less aggressive like before,” he said.
Muhammad Shah struggled with erratic form at the World Track Cycling Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, last month. He lost in the qualifying round of the individual sprint event before being eliminated in the first round of the repechage for the keirin event.
For the record, he won a silver medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games in the team sprint event.
*Profile*:
Full name: Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom
Age: 27 years
Date of birth: 26 November 1995
Origin: Muar, Johor
Number of siblings: Four (second)
Hobbies: Cycling and playing the guitar
Best achievements: Bronze medal in the keirin at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, silver medal in the team sprint event of the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. – BERNAMA
