The 2017 Keirin world champion, who won his first ever gold in the men’s sprint event yesterday, could not keep up the momentum and secure another top finish.

Azizulhasni, who also won the bronze in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics Games, clocked in at 10.203 seconds to finish behind gold medallist Jai Angsuthasawit of Thailand (10.029s) and Japan’s Yudai Nitta, who finished only 0.003s after Jai.

Speaking to reporters after the race, a frustrated Azizulhasni said he could have done better during the race, especially after saving his energy in the previous two races.

“It’s a disappointing result for me because I was confident of getting the gold medal and my performance was at its best. From the beginning, I had reserved my energy and did not want to use it completely until the final.

“What’s worse is I finished the final race without my legs feeling tired. I did not use all of my energy.

“I could not do the final acceleration because I did not have the space to do so. If I had gone ahead and done it (accelerate), I may have been disqualified,” he said.

In the meantime, another Malaysian rider — Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom — finished seventh.