SEPANG, March 9 — Azizulhasni Awang admitted to nursing a “secret injury” after clinching a keirin bronze at the World Championships in London on Sunday but said it won’t stop him from “winning a medal in the Olympics.”

“I need to focus on getting better. I can’t afford to be sick. It is important for me to be in top shape for the Olympics,” said Azizulhasni, who is ranked No 1 in the world in keirin.

“There are 20 weeks to the Rio Games. I still have a lot of work to do. Based on my performance in London, I stand a good chance of winning a medal in the Olympics.” 

Azizulhasni admitted he has matured and is looking forward to his third Olympics.

National coach Beasley said they kept Azizulhasni’s muscle tear a secret as they “didn’t want a media circus going on”.

“He will have a two-week break. We have a detailed plan for him and Fatehah (Mustapa),” said the Australian, who added Fatehah also suffered from a nerve pinch during the world meet.

Beasley admitted the Dungun-born, who had missed five weeks of training in December and January due to the injury will be placed under a strict regiment to ensure he is fir when preparations for the Olympics begin.

“We know what we’re chasing and we know where we want to be. Before Azizul’s injury he was in the best form of his career and we want to beat that,” said Beasley, who admitted crying after Azizulhasni clinched bronze in London,

“Our preparation wasn’t perfect leading to the world championships. Fatehah’s back was also causing some problems, but they’ve both done extremely well,” said Beasley of Fatehah, who qualified for the Olympics in the sprint event.

“Moving forward, we will be recording all their gym sessions, practice times, sleep quality and with the help of a nutritionist we hope to get them in tip-top shape for the Olympics. 

“There’s going to be a fine line between pushing for those marginal gains and keeping them mentally and physically well, but we will do our best.”

Fatehah, meanwhile, said she was confident her injuries would have enough time to heal.

Fatehah admitted her poor showing in London was due to the backbone injury and the failing health of her father, Mustapa Kasim, 59.

“I hope to correct my weaknesses in terms of speed, strength and energy during the 20 weeks,” she said.

“I hope my performance in Rio will be better than the performance at the 2014 Asian Games where I won the silver medal.”

Fatehah won her ticket to Rio as the second best rider from Asia in the Olympic standings.