JAKARTA, Aug 31 — National track cycling ace Mohd Azizulhasni Awang failed to claim his second gold medal after finishing third in the men’s keirin event in the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games at Jakarta International Velodrome here, today.

The 2017 keirin world champion who won his first ever gold in the men’s sprint event, yesterday, could not keep up the momentum and secure another top finish.

Mohd Azizulhasni, who also won the bronze in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics Games, clocked in at 10.203 seconds (s) to finish behind gold medallist Jai Angsuthasawit of Thailand (10.029s) and Japan’s Yudai Nitta, who finished only 0.003s after Jai.

Speaking to reporters after the race, a frustrated Mohd Azizulhasni said he could have done better during the race, especially after saving his energy in the previous two races.

"It’s a disappointing result for me because I was confident of getting the gold medal and my performance was at its best. From the beginning, I had reserved my energy and did not want to use it completely until the final.

"What’s worse is I finished the final race without my legs feeling tired. I did not use all my energy. I could not do the final acceleration because I did not have the space to do so, and if I had gone ahead and done it (accelerate), I may have been disqualified,” he said.

In the meantime, another Malaysian rider — Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom — finished seventh after topping the men’s keirin final for seventh-12th placing. — Bernama