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Azizul stays on track

PETALING JAYA: Track cyclist Azizul Hasni Awang showed that his focus and concentration have not wavered at all despite coping with studies and impending marriage by taking a third career World Cup keirin gold medal at in the final leg in Beijing over the weekend.
Simply the best: Azizul and Josiah are currently the top riders in the country.
 
And with Azizul showing the ability to maintain his form coupled with a resurgent Josiah Ng, coach John Beasley is looking ahead to exciting times for Malaysian cycling in the major assignments this year, starting with the World Championships in Copenhagen in two months’ time.
Azizul and Josiah made it to the keirin final for the second successive time in the just completed World Cup series to confirm their qualification for the world championships.


Azizul and Josiah had bagged the silver and bronze medals respectively in their previous participation in the series in Melbourne last November.
However, it was the diminutive Azizul who grabbed a stunning win in the Beijing leg at the expense of a strong field, led by reigning world champion Maximilian Levy of Germany, to emerge as the overall World Cup winner for the second consecutive season.
Beasley is hoping Azizul will get his act right at the world championships after narrowly missing out on a place in the top six final in Poland last year.
“Azizul made errors and they cost him a place in the keirin final but to his credit, he bounced back with that unbelievable performance in the 200m sprint to win the silver. That showed just how strong and determined he was to get that medal,” said the Australian.
“I’m looking at him to break into the keirin final this time and if Josiah gets in too, the chances of Malaysia getting a medal are very good.”
Regardless of the outcome, it will be a first for Malaysia in world championships keirin cycling if either Azizul or Josiah gets into the final.
But Beasley added that the bigger goals would be to strike at the Commonwealth Games (October in New Delhi) and Asian Games (November in Guangzhou).
“From what they managed over the last three months, I’m convinced that Azizul and Josiah are currently a class above our Asian rivals,” he said.
“I’m optimistic enough to say that we are not just good for gold in keirin but also the possibility of a 1-2 finish in the 200m sprint.
“We will be looking at winning some medals at the Commonwealth Games too even though we will run into Australians and British riders.”
Malaysia have never won a track cycling medal at the Commonwealth Games while at the Asian Games, it has been 40 years since the country last had a gold medallist in Bangkok in 1970. THE STAR

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