"Sgt. Muek" advances sending short track cyclists to compete for world ranking points and prepare for the Asian Games.
The Cycling Association continues its plan to develop the Thai national short track cycling team by sending "Jai - Narasetthada" to compete in two consecutive "Japan Track Cup" events to accumulate world ranking points before the entire team trains in China to prepare for the 20th Asian Games and pursue qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games.
"Sgt. Muek," General Decha Hemkrasri, Vice President of the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC), President of the ASEAN Cycling Federation (ACF), and President of the Cycling Association of Thailand under Royal Patronage, revealed that the Cycling Association has planned training camps to prepare the Thai national short track cycling team for the 20th Asian Games in Japan, alongside competing to accumulate points continuously throughout 2026 to aim for qualification to the 2028 Olympic Games in the United States.
General Decha said that after completing the first four months of training and competing in three major events—the 2026 Asian Track Cycling Championships in the Philippines, the 2nd UCI Track World Cup 2026 event in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the 3rd event in Malaysia—the three Thai short track cyclists, "TJ" Jai Angsuthasawit, "Neo" Petty Officer Narasetthada Bunma, and "Makham" Sub-Lieutenant Yuenyong Petchrat, immediately resumed training upon returning from Malaysia.
"In addition to scheduled training, the Cycling Association will send Narasetthada and Jai to compete in two back-to-back international track cycling events, the Japan Track Cup 1 and 2, in Japan from 14-17 May. Both Jai and Narasetthada will compete in their specialties, the Keirin and Sprint events. These Japan Track Cup 1 and 2 competitions are Class 1 events, awarding as many as 200 points to the winner of each event," General Decha stated.
General Decha added that after competing in Japan, the short track cycling team will continue training alongside their middle-distance teammates for the 20th Asian Games, led by "Captain B" Lt. Col. Juthathip Maneepan, to prepare their physical conditioning. The next plan is for the Thai national cyclists to train at the indoor velodrome with a 250-meter wooden track in Taiyuan, China, with arrangements underway for accommodation and travel. The purpose of training in China is to familiarize the Thai cyclists with the 250-meter wooden indoor velodrome track that will be used for the 20th Asian Games.
"The training in China will last about 6-8 weeks during July and August. The Thai national cyclists are expected to return to Thailand around the fourth week of August to compete in the 2026 Track Asia Cup at the Hua Mak velodrome from 28-30 August. Besides accumulating additional world ranking points, this event serves as a test venue for all Thai national track cyclists before the major competition at the 20th Asian Games, where track cycling will be held from 29 September to 2 October, followed by the 2026 UCI Track World Championships from 14-18 October in Shanghai, China. This event is crucial for the Thai cyclists' pursuit of 2028 Olympic qualification," General Decha said.
"The Thai national track cycling team needs to train on a 250-meter wooden track velodrome to allow athletes to adjust their riding and equipment techniques, which differ from the outdoor 333.33-meter concrete track at Hua Mak. Besides differences in track surface and lap distance, training in China allows continuous practice without concerns about weather interruptions, as July and August are rainy seasons that could disrupt training. However, we acknowledge that training in China requires a considerable budget covering travel, accommodation, meals, and rental fees for the training facility," General Decha concluded.