Rocket’s ride a first for Malaysia

Eight years after carrying Malaysia’s flag at the opening of the Beijing Olympics, Azizulhasni Awang finally fulfilled the dream of winning his country’s first medal in track cycling on Tuesday.

Awang, nicknamed the ‘Pocket Rocket’ because of his diminutive stature, came third in the keirin, earning a bronze medal for a country with little heritage in a sport dominated by Europe and Australia.

After disappointment at the past two Games, the 28-year-old who sustained an horrific injury in 2011 when part of a wooden track pierced his leg, finished just behind Matthijs Buchli of the Netherlands in a race won by Britain’s Jason Kenny.

“It means a lot. We’ve been waiting for an Olympic cycling medal for a very long time,” he said after the race.

Awang came to cycling by riding mountain bikes around the fishing villages where he lived in eastern Malaysia. He took up track cycling as a 16-year-old after being spotted racing in Kuala Lumpur.

“It was my first race. I’d never trained, I’d never used a track bike,” Awang recalled. But despite being up against national cyclists, he won.

A coach encouraged Awang to move to Kuala Lumpur to train. At 18, after continuing to show promise, he relocated to Australia, where he continues to live.

“I love my country, but to bea professional cyclist I had to leave my family and friends and stay in Melbourne,” he said.

Awang hopes his success on the track will inspire more people to take up cycling in Malaysia and encourage investment in the sport.

“Track cycling is not a huge sport in Malaysia,” he said.

“We only have two velodromes; one is broken and the other one is going to be demolished.”