KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 (Bernama) — Carrying the hopes and aspirations of more than 32 million Malaysians of winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal is certainly a great challenge for any athlete, and national track cyclist Mohd Azizulhasni Awang is ready to overcome all the hurdles in his path to bring home the coveted prize.
The 33-year-old rider from Dungun, Terengganu said following the retirement of national badminton ace Lee Chong Wei due to nasal cancer, the country had placed high hopes on him at the world’s biggest Games which will begin on July 23.
“Even performing on the Olympic stage is already huge pressure, but being a gold medal prospect is another level for me. I take it positively, it’s my responsibility to the country.
“Our preparation and training have been the best ever we had so far in our career. I am happy with everything we have done and want to make sure that everything is according to our plan in Japan,” he said during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
Mohd Azizulhasni said he would not be disappointed with whatever results achieved at the Games, as he knew the team was giving more than 100 per cent in preparation.
The 2017 world keirin champion said he was now more mature after representing the country for over 15 years, and was able to control his emotions and nerves at top-level events.
Commenting on his physical preparation, the rider nicknamed ‘The Pocket Rocketman’ said he had gained around 10kg, especially in lower body muscle mass since the 2016 Rio Olympics, to increase his strength.
“When you add muscle composition, it will help increase power output, thus increasing acceleration. This can be seen as my time for the 200m acceleration has improved over time, culminating in me breaking the Asian, national and personal records by clocking in at 9.548s at the Berlin World Championships in March 2020.
“So we have continued to work hard during the lockdown period, and continue to work hard now, because it’s not a small mission, it’s a big mission for our country,” said the athlete who will be making his fourth consecutive Olympic appearance since Beijing 2008.
Armed with the ‘WX-R Vorteq’ bicycle developed through an RM13 million research and development (R&D) project between the National Sports Institute (ISN) and United Kingdom firm TOTALSIM Ltd, he is confident of competing with the world’s best riders after missing out on the bronze in the keirin event in Rio 2016.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom, who will make his first appearance at the Olympics, said he was not setting too high a target.
“Most importantly, I will go there, do my best, and take whatever outcome I get,” he said.
Mohd Azizulhasni and Shah Firdaus will compete in the sprint event from Aug 4-7 and the keirin event from Aug 7-8 at Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka.
— BERNAMA-NNN
