Josiah Ng: Against All Odds

Consequently, when Malaysia’s Josiah Ng finished 5^th in the 2004 Olympic Keirin Final, it gave a huge boost to the Malaysian cycling system, and demonstrated Ng’s fantastic potential, as to achieve such a result without the backing the other finalists received is incredible!

"I don't think many nations can really compare to the British setup. It is the #1 program in the world in my opinion. They have the most professional set up for the elite riders and I hear the development program is superb. "

However, when you consider that Josiah aims to improve on his performance in Athens and win a medal in Beijing it gives an indication of his commitment and desire to achieve, against all odds.

"The Malaysian program is very much improving but we are about a decade behind the leading nations. Everyone has to start from somewhere right? Track cycling is not so popular in Malaysia. We only have two tracks but I hope to change that by winning a medal in Beijing, which will hopefully trigger investment and promotion."

Josiah’s passion for the sport was clear to see from an early age. He saved up to buy a second-hand road bike at 14, and incurred the wrath of his family when his dedication to training and racing meant he missed family functions, although they are now extremely proud of their son.

Josiah believes that his dedication and determination to achieve is one of the reasons for his success.

"I really enjoy everything about my life as sprinter. I love the thrill of competition. I love speed. I have a decent amount of talent. I have very good support from Malaysia. I have had great coaching. And the most important part has been my sheer determination! "

"I also consider the incredible support I have received from my sponsors, Fed Ex, Giro, Oakley, Euro-Asia, Rocket7 Shoes and Sugino to be instrumental in my success as a cyclist."

The Keirin is an event that Josiah is extremely passionate about, he has now spent two seasons at the International Keirin in Japan and would love to see it expanded with events held worldwide.

"I love the keirin scene in Japan and feel very lucky to have gone twice when there are so many guys who deserve to go, never have. Everything is so organized and it’s just a wonderful sub-culture. "

"It’s also really one of the few opportunities for a track sprinter to make some real money. I'd love to see it expanded like for example the international keirin held in conjunction with the World Cup in Manchester the last two years".

Not only does Josiah enjoy the racing in Japan, he also comments about how he enjoyed training in the Japanese countryside

"I also really enjoyed riding in the countryside of Japan during the International Keirin race series. It was good fun riding with all the boys. There was such beautiful scenery and a lot of flat roads which is very important for a sprinter!"

With regards to 2007, Josiah aims to qualify for the World Championship Final and get that illusive medal in the Keirin, which will help him get enough points to assure qualification for the Beijing games. But Ng also expresses a desire to race in the UK and sample the best track cycling scene in the world.

"I would really love to do something similar to what Trinidad’s Elisah Greene did in 2006, and race in the UK during the summer and then maybe ride the Revolution, I’ve just never been invited."

Florian Rousseau, who has perhaps the most impressive palmares in track cycling, three times world sprint champion, twice world kilo champion and five time’s world team sprint champion, was Josiah’s childhood hero, however he also has a great deal of respect for the current Keirin and Sprint World Champion Theo Bos, who recently smashed the 200m TT World Record in the Moscow World Cup.

"Theo is a very interesting guy. He's a God in Japan. He has all the star qualities but he's also pretty down to earth. Another thing I like about him is that he does his own thing, his own way. He's an original champ!

Whilst not cycling Josiah enjoys surfing the web and is an avid fan of Formula One. He also has a wide variety of musical tastes including Heavy Metal such as Metallica and Guns'N Roses to the current Hip/Hop, Pop and R&B artists and even some classical and jazz.

"My father Andy is a preventive care doctor.  My mother Janet is a registered dietician.  My brother Johansen is an engineering major in university and my sister Joyalene is a nursing/music major in university.   I come from a family of string musicians although I have to say that my brother and sister are by far more accomplished in music than I am.  They are both on music scholarships! So that’s probably the reason for my wide ranging musical tastes!!"

He also enjoys watching the Gladiator, which he regards as an inspirational film, and the TV drama Nip/Tuck.

Like most cyclists Josiah is obsessive about his kit, particularly his Oakley sunnies and Giro Helmet and he also states
 
"My Japanese Keirin Knicks are so cool! So are my Rocket 7 custom carbon shoes. They are almost half the weight of normal shoes!"

On that note I conclude the interview and thank Josiah for taking the time out of his busy training schedule and would like to wish him every success in medalling at the Worlds, and in the long term, a successful Beijing Olympics.