NILAI, Aug 24 — National track cyclist Mohd Azizulhasni Awang today admitted he was unperturbed by his defeat to Taiwan’s Kang Shih Feng in the 2019 Southeast Asia Grand Prix Track Cycling Championships at the National Velodrome here yesterday.
The former world champion was satisfied with his silver medal and described yesterday’s race as part of his training and preparation for the World Cup.
“For me, it is not an issue (coming in second today), because yesterday’s sprint event was crucial as I needed to pick up the points for (qualifying to) the World Cup. I am quite comfortable with the Keirin event,” he said when met by reporters here today.
Mohd Azizulhasni, who is nicknamed ‘The Pocket Rocketman’, however, admitted that the final was an intense affair, and accepted the fact that the Taiwanese rider was able to seize the opportunity at the right moment.
“I thought there was nobody behind me until a half lap to go, only then did I realise that someone wanted to overtake me. I thought it was my teammate, Shariz Efendi, but when the rider was next to me and I looked up, I found it was the Taiwanese rider.
“I didn’t have time to catch up to his speed so he cut ahead of me and I ended up in second place,” he said.
The women’s category saw Malaysia’s budding cyclist, Anis Amira Rosidi contribute a silver medal while luck was not on the side of senior cyclist, Fatehah Mustapa, who failed to advance into the finals, finishing in eighth place.
Indonesia’s Crismonita Dwi Putri took the gold, while Yeung Cho Yiu from Hong Kong settled for the bronze.
Meanwhile, national head coach John Beasley said he was pleased with the performance of his cyclists at the tournament.
“I am really happy with Azizulhasni, Muhammad Fadhil and Mohamad Shariz Efendi for entering the final. We wanted to win, but today, we fell a little bit short.
“Azizul raced really well, tactically. Fadhil did his best in the Keirin race so that’s pretty exciting for the game,” he said. — Bernama
