The 22-year-old rider from Terengganu who won a historic silver medal from the keirin event at the recent World Track Cycling Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, is expected to compete in his two pet events, keirin and 200m Sprint.
"I know it won't be easy, especially with riders from China, South Korea and Japan showing significant improvement," Azizulhasni told reporters after receiving scholarship to a tune of RM160,000 a year to continue his studies at the Deikin University in Australia, from Yayasan Sime Darby, Wednesday.
The pint-sized cyclist from Dungun, has over the past two years, already left some critics biting the dust by erasing all doubts about size being a disadvantage in the world of track cycling by bringing the power-to-weight ratio into play.
He however, suffered a major setback when he failed to win a medal at the Asian Cycling Championships in UAE lat month, after ironically losing to eventual winners Kazunari Wanatabe from Japan (keirin) and Zhang Miao (China) in the 200m sprint.
Azizulhasni said he was aware that to succeed in the Games, he would have to train harder and be focused.
"There is no shortcut to success. I will have to identify my weaknesses and rectify them," said the national track cyclist who was grateful that his contributions to the nation has been given due consideration.
"I hope the scholarship given to me will spur and motivate other young athletes to excel in sports and achieve their dreams," he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) deputy president Datuk Naim Mohamad said the scholarship would further add on to Azizulhasni's responsibilities to deliver results on the track and academically.
-- BERNAMA
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