Azizul rode on the strength of his historic achievements at the World Championships and World Cups to beat six other nominees, including world No. 1 shuttler Lee Chong Wei and five-time Mr Universe Sazali Samad, to the 2009 national Sportsman of the Year award.
In the women’s category, squash’s Nicol David beat five other nominees, including World Rankings Masters bowling champion Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman, to claim the award for the fifth successive time.
Chong Wei captured six international titles last year and he has been at the top of the world rankings since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
However, he was only a quarter-finalist at the world championships in India last year and this in a way weakened his claim for the award for the third time after 2005 and 2008.
On the other hand, Azizul made the track cycling world sit up and take notice of him with breakthrough wins in the World Cup legs in Melbourne and Beijing. He went on to win the World Cup overall title and also emerged as the first Malaysian to occupy the top spot in the keirin world rankings.
He continued to blaze the track by storming into the final of the 200m sprint in the world championships in Poland in March last year and gave Gregory Bauge of France a tough fight before settling for the silver medal.
The fact that the diminutive Azizul is not just competitive but also excels in a sport dominated by the Europeans was also a point not lost on the selection committee.
He is the seventh cyclist to win the award after Ng Joo Ngan (1970), Daud Ibrahim (1971), Rosman Alwi (1985), M. Kumaresan (1987), Shahrulneeza Razali (1999) and Josiah Ng (2004).
The success in winning the award has yet to sink in for Azizul. It is the second award he collected this year after the 2009 SAM (Sportswriters Association of Malaysia) Athlete of the Year in February.
“I never expect this. I still remembered when I first set foot at the National Sports Complex building a few years ago and saw posters of cyclists who were previous winners of the Sportsman award – Joo Ngan and Rosman Alwi,” he said. “Josiah also won before and I was quietly hoping to be like them one day. I really did not expect this to come so soon as I am still learning many things along the way.”
The 22-year-old Dungun-born cyclist had flown home from his training base in Melbourne to attend last night’s presentation ceremony.
“This win will be a big, big boost for my efforts to do well in my debut in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games later this year,” said Azizul, who won a second silver medal in the world championship in Copenhagen last month, this time in the keirin event.
For 27-year-old Nicol, her consistency and ability to shine on the big occasions saw her taking the award for the seventh time. She won it for the first time in 1999 and was also the winner in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
The 26-year-old Nicol won seven tournaments on the Wispa Tour last year, including a fourth World Open title in Amsterdam.
She also won the World Games gold medal in Kaohsiung and ended the year as the top ranked player for the fourth consecutive year. Nicol was also named the Wispa Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive time.
Azizul and Nicol received RM10,000 and a trophy each from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, and the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tuanku Nur Zahirah.
Nicol is currently in Amsterdam and the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) president, Datuk A. Sani Karim, received the award on her behalf.
2009 roll of honour
Sportsman: Azizul Hasni Awang (cycling) – RM10,000.Sportswoman: Nicol David (squash) – RM10,000.
Men’s team: SEA Games football (Ahmad Fakri Shaarani, Amar Rohidan, Mazlizam Mohd, Mohd Farizal Marlias, Mohd Baddrol Bakhtiar, Mohd Sabre Mat Abu, Mohd Amirulhadi Zainal, Mohd Asharuddin Putra, Mohd Nasriq Baharom, S. Kunalan, Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Razak, Mohd Zakuan Adha Abdul Razak, Abdul Manaf Mamat, Mohd Sharbinee, Gurusamy Govandar Kandasamy, Mahalli Jasuli, Mohd Muslim Ahmad, Mohd Azmi Muslim, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, Safiq Rahim) – 20 x RM1,500.
Women’s team: Leong Mun Yee-Pandelela Rinong (diving) – RM10,000
Male Paralympic: Mohd Salam Sidik (archery) – RM10,000.
Female Paralympic: Norhayati Sanoh (lawn bowls) – RM10,000.
Men’s coaches: K. Rajagobal (men’s football) and Yoong Thong Foong (wushu) – RM5,000 each.
Leadership: Edmund Yong (golf).
Special award: T. Ponniyah (karate).
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