Azizul in driving seat to ride keirin slot in the Olympics

KUALA LUMPUR: Azizulhasni Awang failed in his mission to win a third World Track Cycling Championships medal in Melbourne, but he has at least put himself in the driving seat to ride the keirin slot for Malaysia at the London Olympics.

Azizul reached the semi-finals in style by winning the first round heat outright while team-mate and reigning Asian champion Josiah Ng did not clear his first round heat and was subsequently eliminated in the repechage.
However, Azizul’s bid to reach the top six final was dashed when he only managed fifth place in his semi-finals heat behind Japanese former Asian champion Nitta Yudai.

German Levy Maximilian, the 2009 world champion, won the heat and he was joined in the final by Japan’s Kazunari Watanabe and Simon Van Velthooven of New Zealand.

It’s disappointing to put everything on the line and get this kind of result. It’s kind of like sticking a knife in the chest. - JOSIAH NG

 

Four-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy reclaimed the keirin world title ahead of Maximilian while fellow Briton Jason Kenny took the bronze.

It was still a creditable effort from Azizul, who was making a comeback to top level competition after suffering a horrific calf injury early last year and missing last year’s world meet in Holland as a result.

A country can only enter one rider for the individual discipline at the Olympics this time and performance at the world meet carries the most weight.

National Sportsman of the Year Azizul has indicated his ability to shoulder the challenge of delivering a first-ever medal at the Olympics but he was not satisfied with the outcome yesterday.
“I was confident of making the final after winning the first round heat without going into repechage,” he said.
“I even put in a big gear for the semis but the incident (involving Velthooven) really upset my momentum somewhat.

“I was leading at the front but the Kiwi rider then fell and they had to restart the race,” said Azizul, who won consecutive silver medals at the world meet in 2010 and 2011.
Coach John Beasley said luck was just not on their side last night.

“I was hoping we would land one medal at least but things didn’t work out.
“Azizul had a good start and was in a good position. But they restarted the race and he couldn’t get the position he wanted and was marked out,” said the Australian.

Josiah was gutted over his failure to make an impact at the world meet as it now means that his younger team-mate is the favourite to ride the keirin at the Olympics.
“I was in good form but my best wasn’t enough.

“It’s disappointing to put everything on the line and get this kind of result. It’s kind of like sticking a knife in the chest.

“I’m fully committed to supporting Azizul now as it looks like I will be the alternate rider for the Olympics.
“But I will work hard in training as if anything happens to Azizul, I should be ready to step forward,” said the 2004 Athens Olympics finalist.





THE STAR