Azizulhasni Bags Gold At 2020 Australian Cycling Championship Despite 10-Month Hiatus
Fellow national cyclist Shah Firdaus also bagged bronze in the keirin event.
By May Vin Ang — 21 Dec 2020, 11:32 AM
National cyclist Azizulhasni Awang bagged a gold medal at the 2020 Cycling Australia Track National Championships over the weekend
Also making Malaysia proud was teammate Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom who bagged bronze, coming in third behind Australia's reigning Commonwealth Games champion Matthew Glaetzer in the keirin event.
According to The Star, the cycling duo competed at the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane from 18 to 21 December as honorary guests at the Australian nationals - making Azizulhasni the first non-Australian gold medalist in the competition.
This is the duo's first competition in nearly 10 months since the Berlin World Championships in February
Azizulhasni and Shah Firdaus said they are both pleased with their current level of performance, considering that they are still in the training phase at the moment.
The cyclists also competed in the Australian tournament's sprint event and emerged fourth and fifth respectively.
"Overall, Shah and I are happy as we have achieved similar performances to what we did at our peak earlier this year at the Berlin World Championships," said Azizulhasni, who has been carrying out home training due to the pandemic.
"We have to thank Cycling Australia for allowing us to compete - albeit unofficially - as this is their national meet," he added, as quoted by New Straits Times.
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican has since congratulated both the Tokyo Olympics-bound cyclists
"Congratulations to these two national athletes. Even after a long absence from competing, today they have once again emerged winners in an international tournament," said Reezal in a Facebook post yesterday evening, 20 December.
"This is another win for the pride of all Malaysians."
