World Keirin champion Mohd Azizulhasni Awang wins only the bronze medal in the 2018 ATCC

Mohd Azizulhasni Awang Wins Bronze At ATC 2018
Details Published on Sunday, 18 February 2018 09:23



Pic: BernamaNILAI: World keirin champion Mohd Azizulhasni Awang missed out the chance to win gold on home ground when he only managed to win the bronze medal in the event at the 2018 Asian Track Cycling Championships (ATC) held at the National Velodrome, here today.

The national cyclist, who recorded 10.076 seconds during the semifinal round, failed to match his brilliant pedalling when he was 0.084 seconds behind Japanese rider Tomoyuki Kawabata who recorded 10.174s to win gold, followed by South Korean Chaebin IM for silver.

Speaking to reporters after the race, Mohd Azizulhasni, nicknamed the Pocketrocketman, said he was disappointed having failed to deliver the gold to the Malaysian supporters who came to watch him today.

“It's sad because every rider surely wants to win in every big tournament, but I’m still happy being able to be on the podium. A very stiff competition I would say.

“I did give my best in every race, but maybe, luck is not with me today, but I promise to do my best to not disappoint my supporters in the sprint event this Monday,” he said.

Mohd Azizulhasni said today’s race was part of his strategy ahead of the 2018 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in the Netherlands to begin on Feb 28.

“Today's race is part of the strategy where I would like to avoid reaching my peak performance too early prior to the UCI Track Cycling World Championships,” said the cyclist from Dungun, Terengganu.

The last time Mohd Azizulhasni won gold medal in the keirin event at ATC was in the 2015 edition, held in Thailand.

-BERNAMA