NILAI, June 13 — Will the national track cycling ace Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang be able to repeat his two-gold feat in sprint and keirin at the 2008 edition when the 2023 Asian Track Cycling Championships (ACC) kick off at the National Velodrome in Nilai tomorrow?
The 35-year-old, who also bagged the sprint and keirin golds and team sprint silver in Nara, Japan 15 years ago, is gunning for at least one title this time in the ACC, which offers valuable qualification points for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The 2017 keirin world champion, who is the country’s most successful rider in the ACC with 10 gold, seven silver and six bronze medals, hopes to capitalise on the home advantage to accomplish his mission.
“So far, everything is going really well. I won’t say I am at my peak now but, judging from my performance in the recent Hong Kong International Track Cup, I am (heading) in the right direction. My target is at least one gold, but if I can win both (gold medals in sprint and keirin) then good.
“I am very excited because the ACC is back in Malaysia (since 2018)... in front of the home crowd. It’s not every time we get this opportunity. Hopefully, the solid support of the fans will boost my spirit on race day,” he told Bernama today.
The Pocket Rocketman, as the pint-sized Mohd Azizulhasni is known, will start his campaign on Thursday (June 15) in the sprint qualifying and early rounds, followed by the semi-finals and final on Friday, and keirin on Sunday.
Mohd Azizulhasni hopes the one-day rest on Saturday will help in his recovery and boost his energy to challenge for the keirin gold.
Although keirin is his pet event, the Dungun-born rider has won six of his 10 ACC gold medals in the sprint event, while the remaining three came from keirin and one from team sprint.
“Usually, the events are held back-to-back and, sometimes, on the same day. After competing in sprint, which drains our energy, we are not at 100 per cent the next day and anything can happen in keirin, like being blocked (by other riders or crashes).
“Having a day’s rest, I think, is going to help a lot. However, we are prepared and are used to the tight schedules during tournaments. At least, we are prepared for it — mentally and physically,” he said.
Talking about the challenges in the ACC, Azizulhasni named riders from Japan and China as the strongest rivals in the ACC, especially rising stars Shinji Nakano and Kaiya Ota of Japan.
Apart from Mohd Azizulhasni, Malaysia will also be banking on the likes of Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Mohd Fadhil Mohd Zonis for the glitter of gold at the ACC.
Meanwhile, Nakano, 24, has declared that he will give it his everything to make it tough for home favourite Mohd Azizulhasni in the keirin event.
“This is an important competition for the Paris Olympics. So, obviously, I want to win and this is one of our practice competitions. Azizul and Shah Firdaus are very strong, they will be my strongest opponents... so, I will do my best to beat them.
“Yes, this is their home ground and they’re used to this velodrome but I hope we will be able to get used to it too. We also didn’t experience any jetlag coming from Japan, so I think I can win,” said Nakano, who arrived here on Sunday (June 11).
Nakano’s warning cannot be taken lightly by the national riders, especially after the Japanese proved his mettle by winning the UCI Nation’s Cup keirin title in Cairo, Egypt in March. — Bernama
