Skip to main content

Azizul, Rizal and Shuang Guo shine for Asia


PRUSZKOW (Poland): Malaysian sprinter Azizul Hasni Awang helped put Asia's track cycling reputation into orbit on Sunday when he almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport.

Only an hour after China's star Shuang Guo had given the Asians a huge boost with her maiden world title, in the women's keirin, Azizul came close to grabbing a first ever gold for his country in the men's sprint.

In the end, Azizul, Malaysia's flag-bearer at the Beijing Olympics, had to settle for silver as Frenchman Gregory Bauge powered his way to the finish line, and victory, after Azizul had forced a third-leg decider.

It meant Malaysia finished with two medals after Mohd Rizal Tisin had made history earlier in the week by claiming bronze -- Malaysia's first medal at the World Championships -- in the four-lap kilometre won by Stefan Nimke of Germany.

After being given a scare by Azizul, Bauge's cries of joy and relief echoed around the velodrome as he handed France their first world crown in the coveted sprint event since Laurent Gane in 2003.
Bauge admitted he had to dig deep to overcome the Malaysian.

"He's wily, and I knew it, but when you're on the bike it goes so fast that you have very little time to react," he said.

After missing out on progressing to the final of the keirin, his preferred event, Azizul used his tactical prowess and impressive speed to get past a host of bigger favourites in the sprint, sport's blue riband event.

His skills impressed spectators and former champions alike, including retired track great Arnaud Tournant of France.

"He's fast and tactically he's very talented," Tournant, who still holds the world kilometre record, said.

"And because he's small he can go places you wouldn't think about going yourself."

The 21-year-old from a small village in Terengganu, believed he could have come away with gold.

"I'm still happy with my silver medal. It's not too bad, but I'm a little bit sad because I knew I could do it," Azizul said.

The biggest plaudits for Azizul may have come from his coach John Beasley, who heads their track programme in Melbourne.

Beasley, a former coach of his native Australia, said: "He's such a good athlete to work with, always hungry to improve himself.

"And that'something you can't coach. At only 21, he's just a baby in track cycling terms but he has what it takes to be a great rider.

However, Asia was not to go without topping the podium, with Shuang Guo claiming her maiden world crown at the championships in the keirin.

The 24-year-old France-based racer, who hails from Inner Mongolia, was evidently happy with her first world title.

"I'm happy and very excited," Shuang Guo, who won sprint bronze in Beijing last August, said. -- AFP

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ex-coach's jail sentence cut to a year

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal yesterday sentenced former athletics coach C. Ramanathan to 12 months' jail for molesting two junior athletes 19 years ago. A three-man bench led by Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus unanimously dismissed Ramanathan's appeal against conviction, but varied the jail sentence of four years to a year, which was to run concurrently. Following yesterday's ruling, Ramanathan, 75, a former teacher, walked out a free man as he had served 10 months in Kajang Prison. Convicts get one-third remission for good behaviour while in prison. However, he will lose his pension. Hishamudin, who sat with Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail and Datuk Linton Albert, said the court found no merit to overturn the conviction. "However, in reducing the sentence, we considered Ramanathan's age and the long years the appeal has taken." Deputy public prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud submitted that then High Court judge Tan Sri Abdull Hamid E...
2 comments
Read more

Govt Always Gives Emphasis To Sporting Culture, Says PM

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 29 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badaw i said the government always gives emphasis on cultivating a strong sporting culture in achieving excellence at the international level. As such, the Prime Minister said, it was important to scout for young talents in sports. "I observe that the Malaysia Games (Sukma) has become one of the important platforms to do so. "In this arena, the potentials and skills of the youngsters can be identified for development so that they can achieve greater success in sports," he said in his message in the souvenir book of the 12th Sukma from May 31 until June 9. Abdullah said he was aware that competition in sports was very keen and challenging but this did not mean that Malaysian athletes were incapable of competing at the international level. "The fact is that we have all the characteristics required to be excellent. We must inculcate a strong fighting spirit so that we don't easily surrender,...
1 comment
Read more

Indonesia Choose Komodo Dragon As SEA Games Mascot

KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 (Bernama) -- Host for the 26th SEA Games, Indonesia has chosen the Komodo dragon as mascot for the 2011 Games which will be held in Jakarta and Palembang from Nov 11 to 25. The Indonesia SEA Games Organizing Committee (Inasoc), was qouted by Jakarta Post as saying that a pair of Komodo dragons, a male (Modo) and a female (Modi), were chosen in recognition of the Republic's conservation efforts to protect the dwindling number of the rare lizard. Modo and Modi were unveiled last night at a function in Jakarta, to mark the 200-day countdown before the games open on Nov 11 in Palembang. The Komodo dragons, the largest lizard in the world, only live on the Indonesian islands of Komodo in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. On Jan 15, Inasoc unveiled its logo, a Garuda eagle, to symbolize the power and grandeur of Indonesia. Indonesia dominated the Games between 1977, when it first competed, and 1997, failing to top the medal charts only twice in that p...
1 comment
Read more