“Leave my family out of this” – Japanese Cyclist Apologises to All M’sians for Crash with Shah Firdaus

Japanese cyclist Shinji Nakano has issued an apology to all Malaysians via his TikTok page for the crash with Malaysian Olympian Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom during the Men’s Keirin final at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 which saw the latter relegated.

Following the crash, Nakano’s social media accounts have been bombarded by unruly comments from some Malaysian netizens, who blamed the Japanese Olympian for what happened to Shah Firdaus.

As of the time of writing, the TikTok post which featured a photo of Nakano holding a Japanese flag has been viewed over 816,600 times and garnered over 22,000 likes.

In the caption, written in Japanese, Nakano wrote,

“I apologise to all Malaysians for my mistake. Please don’t mention my family. I am the one responsible, do not bring my family into this.”

During the Men’s Keirin final yesterday (11 August), Shah Firdaus was hit by Nakano, causing Jack Carlin of Great Britain to lose control and fall in the final round at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines National Velodrome.

At the end of the match, Shah Firdaus initially was listed as finishing 4th, but it was then changed to relegated on the Olympic Games official website, resulting in a 6th-place finish.

Selepas terlibat dalam kemalangan, Shah Firdaus tamat di tempat keempat ??

Harrie Lavreysen dari Belanda muncul juara!#GoForGold #SokongMalaysia #Paris2024 #KitaSemuaTeamMas pic.twitter.com/UUZ76lqcmX

— ASTRO ARENA (@ASTROARENA) August 11, 2024

So, what do you guys think of the whole situation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Also read: UPDATE: Shah Firdaus Relegated by Olympics After Finishing 4th in Keirin Final Following Crash