KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 — National track cycling ace Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang took home a silver medal for Malaysia in the men’s keirin event at the Izu Velodrom in Shizuoka, Japan today.  

The 33-year-old former world champion finished second behind Great Britain’s Jason Kenny who took his seventh Olympic gold in this event, and ahead of Harrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands.

The men's keirin finals took off with an unexpected early sprint by Kenny who fought hard to stay way ahead of five other contenders.

Azizulhasni and Lavreysen were caught by surprise by Kenny’s burst of speed. They powered through, but were too far behind Kenny to overtake the Brit. It was a tough race between Azizul and Lavreysen as they fought for a silver medal in the dramatic event.

This will be the fourth straight Olympic outing for Azizulhasni since the 2008 Beijing edition.

Azizulhasni, nicknamed the Pocket Rocketman, and also known as the "showman of the event” has improved from bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic (his first medal) to silver this time around.

He failed to qualify for the keirin final in Beijing while he finished sixth at the 2012 London Games.