After losing in the 1/8 finals earlier, the duo were handed another tilt at qualifying for the quarterfinals via the 1/8 finals repechages at the Izu Velodrome but it proved to be in vain.

In Heat 1 of the 1/8 finals repechages, reigning champion Jason Kenny of Britain came out tops in 10.066s, with Azizulhasni trailing in second place and Japan’s Yuta Wakimoto third.

In Heat 2, Shah Firdaus could only finish third behind France’s Sebastien Vigier, who won in 10.169s, and New Zealand’s Sam Webster.

The winners of each of the two heats go through to the quarterfinals to be held later today.

The two Malaysians fell to the might of their Dutch opponents in the 1/18 finals earlier, with Azizulhasni losing to Jeffrey Hoogland while Shah Firdaus was defeated by Harrie Lavreysen.

Hoogland, who smashed the Olympic record with a time of 9.215s in the qualifying round yesterday, clocked 9.831s – just 0.040s faster than Azizulhasni – in Heat 1.

Shah Firdaus then suffered a second straight defeat to Lavreysen in Heat 2 as the Dutchman clocked 9.635s, with him trailing 0.133s behind.

Lavreysen had also defeated Shah Firdaus in yesterday’s 1/32 finals.

However, it’s still not over yet for the national riders as they have one last chance to come good when they compete in the men’s keirin on Saturday.

Azizulhasni became the first Malaysian track cyclist to win an Olympic medal when he bagged a bronze in men’s keirin at the 2016 Rio Games.