SEPANG – Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh today congratulated national track cycling champion Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, who won the double gold at the Asian Track Cycling Championships (ACC) at the National Velodrome in Nilai.
Hannah said she will ensure the meeting with the Road To Gold (RTG) committee tomorrow discusses Azizulhasni’s needs to ensure his continued success at the international level.
“I congratulate Azizulhasni for winning gold and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom (for his success at the ACC).
“Tomorrow during the RTG meeting, we will see how we can boost support for the two athletes,” she told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA Terminal 1) today.
Azizulhasni, popularly known as the “The Pocket Rocketman” won the men’s keirin gold after overcoming a strong challenge from three Japanese riders.
His success gave him a personal record of his 12th gold at ACC, apart from ending his eight-year wait to be reinstalled as the Asian King of Keirin, an honour he last won in the 2015 edition in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Azizulhasni also grabbed his 11th ACC gold on Friday after triumphing in the sprint event for the seventh time, following his earlier victories in 2008, 2009, 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2020.
Hannah said that the meeting will also discuss the support required by all 15 athletes who have been listed in the RTG programme.
Besides Azizulhasni and Firdaus, the other athletes involved are the national badminton champion, Lee Zii Jia and four badminton doubles pairs, namely Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles), Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi (men’s doubles), Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah (women’s doubles), Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing (mixed doubles), and Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai Jemie (mixed doubles).
Also listed are national divers Datuk Pandalela Rinong Pamg and Nur Dhabitah Sabri.
Asked if she was surprised about Zii Jia’s announcement on wanting to take a break from participating in badminton tournaments, Hannah said it is merely a phase of ups and downs that athletes face.
Zii Jia lost in the first round of the 2023 Indonesia Open on June 14, to India’s Lakshya Sen 21-17, 21-13 at the Istora Senayan Stadium in Jakarta.
After the defeat, Zii Jia announced that he will be taking a temporary break from tournaments. – Bernama, June 18, 2023
