Saturday, June 20, 2009

Jo's big day

"Hey, TJ, I've got a backpage story for Sunday Mail for you to work with," I told TJ Khoo, our sub at the sports desk. The norm then was to submit our stories for the now defunct Sunday paper either late Friday or early the next day.

"By the time you reach the office tomorrow, you can read it in the system," I told the former Sun sports editor enthusiastically. I was making the phone call from Athens, Greece, as I was covering the Olympic Games at its birthplace.

The reason for my enthusiasm then was our musically-inclined speed merchant, Josiah Ng. I wrote a preview-cum-profile of the Manila-born rider ahead of his highly anticipated Olympic debut at the age of 24, telling the readers of his parents' objection of his passion towards cycling because they wanted him to join them in the healthcare industry, the accident in Aigle weeks before Athens, and his love for violins and gadgets. He eventually finished fifth in the keirin event, the closest ever for a Malaysian to the Olympic medal in a sport other than badminton!

Backpage of Sunday Mail, Aug 22, 2004

Arguably the man who injected renewed vigour into track cycling that resulted in the emergence of a pool of sprinters, Josiah is tying the knot next week.


Jo's wedding invitation card
Read here, here and here .

Josiah and I spoke about Aigle, Fred Magne, Mark Whitehead, Shane Kelly and a host of other things...as a result, I wrote this article after the race

Hamdan Saaid, then with Bernama, with loose cannon minutes before the keirin final at the velodrome in Maroussi, Athens.

Josiah (right) in the adrenaline-pumping race of his life, with eventual bronze medallist Shane Kelly while Mickael Bourgain curses his luck

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