KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — National track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang tried his best, but could only muster a seventh-place finish in the keirin finals at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Poland today.

The accident he suffered in the first round which impacted his left ribs had affected his performance in the semi-finals, which left the Pocket Rocketman chasing for a seventh to 12th place finish.

"There was also an impact to my head, this made me feel dizzy and I was in pain. But in order to gain as many points as possible to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, I put aside the pain and kept on going.

"Although I was a little disappointed not being able to reach the Final 1-6, but winning the Final 7-12 race helped to cheer me up, and it also earned me many points,” he wrote in his Facebook status.

In the semi-finals, Azizulhasni finished fourth out of six cyclists. The top three cyclists from each semi-final match go on to the Final 1-6 race.

Meanwhile, Azizulhasni’s teammate Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom failed to shine as he was eliminated in the keirin repechage at the BGZ Arena, in Pruszkow.

Earlier, Azizulhasni, Muhammad Shah Firdaus and Muhammad Fadhil Mohd Zonis, ended up second last in the team sprint qualifying round.

In 2017, Azizulhasni created national history as the first Malaysian cyclist to win the World Championship in the keirin event at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong.

He won the bronze twice in the same event, in 2016 and 2015 respectively, while he got the silver in 2010, in Denmark.

This Saturday, Azizulhasni, Muhammad Shah Firdaus and Muhammad Fadhil will be competing in the individual sprint event. — Bernama