Azizul slogs to a silver as Fatehah bags bronze

AZIZULHASNI Awang overcame a tough start to clinch a hardearned silver medal in men’s keirin while Fatehah Mustapa secured her second bronze at the Asian Track Cycling Championships in South Korea yesterday.

Azizulhasni was forced to go through the repechage in his pet event after being involved in a crash with India’s E. Esow in the opening round at the Jincheon National Training Centre.

The 31-year-old had no problem winning the repechage heat comfortably.

In the semi-finals, Azizulhasni qualified in second place behind Japan’s Nitta Yudai while Shah Firdaus Sahrom took the third qualifying spot in their group.

Azizulhasni was, however, denied gold by another Japanese rider, Yuta Wakimoto, in the final by less than a tenth of a second (0.061s).

Yudai completed the podium while Shah Firdaus came in sixth.

Despite winning only a silver, it was still a positive result for Azizulhasni, who was forced to undergo minor surgery on one of his fingers recently following a freak accident.

The women’s 500m time trial saw Fatehah taking the bronze after clocking 35.283s in the final, proving she is on the right track to rediscovering her form.

China’s Chen Feifei took gold in 34.742s while South Korean Kim Soohyun finished second in 34.829s.

Fatehah and Anis Amira Rosidi, who had teamed up for the team sprint bronze on Thursday, will compete in the individual sprint while Fadhil Zonis will line up for the men’s 1km time trial today.