AZIZULHASNI TRIUMPHS

Pocket Rocketman wins sprint gold in Indonesia

AZIZULHASNI Awang ended his first major competition of the season by winning the sprint gold at the Asian Track Cycling Championships in Indonesia on Saturday. It was his fifth sprint title and ninth career gold at the meet.

In the sprint final, Azizulhasni, known as the Pocket Rocketman, displayed his trademark grit and tactical guile to bounce back from a first round blemish to edge China’s Xu Chao for the title.

Shah Firdaus Sahrom clinched the bronze by winning both races against Japan’s Kazunari Watanabe.

“Yesterday (Saturday) was like a roller coaster ride for me. It was a bit messy in the qualifying round as I lost control at the second corner. I clocked 10.194 seconds which placed me at 10th,” said Azizulhasni.

“Due to my slower qualification time, my road to the sprint final was tougher as I had to race against faster riders from the early rounds. I tried not to lose my focus and put my best show on every single ride until I reached the final.

“In the final, Xu Chao controlled the race really well in the first round before I made some adjustments in the second to make it equal and go into the deciding round.

“For the last race, I give full credit to my coach John Beasley who gave me a very good tactic that led to my win.”

Azizulhasni, who was fifth in keirin, added that the overall performances of the national cyclists bode well for the season ahead.

“I am so happy with this achievement as it (sprint gold) was my ninth Asian meet title.

“I am also happy that Shah Fridaus won the keirin silver and individual sprint bronze, congratulations to him. He also gained some Olympic qualifying points.

“This guy has a lot of potential and has a bright future, he is going to be a future champ that is for sure,” Azizul added.

The cyclists’ next major assignment is the World Championships in Poland on Feb 27-March 3.