ON TRACK FOR COVID-19 VACCINE
Azizulhasni is eager to be inoculated as it will help build herd immunity
NATIONAL track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang (pic) is keen to do his part to help battle Covid19 by being vaccinated against the virus. The Olympic bronze medallist confirmed that he would be seeking inoculation though has yet to work out the finer details on when or where he will be receiving the shots.
“I can’t speak on behalf of everyone (athletes), but for me, I will be taking it (vaccination),” said Azizulhasni, when asked whether he and compatriot Shah Firdaus
Sahrom plan to get vaccinated.
“I believe it (vaccination) is important to help build herd immunity.
“However, as of now, I am not sure whether I will be receiving the vaccine here (in Australia) or in Malaysia. We will have to wait and see.”
Azizulhasni and Shah are based in Melbourne, where they train under national coach John Beasley.
Herd immunity can be achieved if a substantial portion of the population is immune to a specific disease.
This stops the disease from spreading easily and subsequently lowering the risk of infection.
The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and the Sports Ministry are keen on having athletes bound for this year’s Tokyo Olympics and Vietnam Sea Games vaccinated.
The Sports Ministry hope 264 athletes and essential officials will receive the vaccination by May ahead of Olympic qualifying events.
Azizulhasni and Shah have already qualified for the Olympics, and Beasley is not keen on travelling abroad ahead of the Tokyo event.
The duo have been progressing well, winning medals in recent Australian domestic competitions.
GOH Soon Huat-Shevon Lai have no intentions of hanging up their racquets after the Tokyo Olympics this year. The mixed doubles duo, who were dropped from the national squad last month, are still sourcing for long-term sponsorship deals that will see them through as independent players for the next few years.
Shevon said: “We have not found any solid sponsors yet, but we hope to because we do still want to play on after the Olympics. We hope sponsors will come in to support us so that we can continue fighting for the country too,” she said in Basel yesterday.
Looking back at their time in the national squad, Shevon admitted that on many occasions, they could have crumbled under pressure but chose to continue fighting for the sake of their partnership.
“There were many ups and downs for us. Injuries, communication issues and even psychological concerns, but we persevered. We put aside our differences to make this work for us.
“Yes, our hopes of realising our Olympic dreams may be slim, but we have no choice. We have to keep fighting until the end.
“Our mindsets are most important. We can either give up or enjoy playing the game we love.”
Soon Huat-Shevon hope to win this week’s Swiss Open to remain on course for an Olympic spot.
They are ranked No 11 on the Race to Tokyo list, four rungs below compatriots, Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying, who have virtually qualified for the Tokyo Games as the highest-ranked Malaysian pair.
A country is allowed two representatives in an Olympic badminton event if both are ranked in the top-eight bracket at the end of the qualifying period in June.
“Every tournament is crucial for us now. For the Swiss Open, winning the title will inch us closer to the top-eight spot.
“Although it’s going to be a tight squeeze, we are happy with where we are right now, despite all the challenges we went through,” Shevon added.
Soon Huat-Shevon played France’s Eloi
Adam-Margot Lambert in a late first-round match yesterday.
The other Malaysian pairs who had late matches yesterday were Peng Soon-Liu Ying, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, Hoo Pang RonCheah Yee See and Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei.