The 33-year-old and his 25-year-old teammate Shah Firdaus Sahrom confirmed their quarterfinals spots after getting past the first round of the men’s keirin event at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka today.
Both riders, however, are aware that they still have a long way to go in their mission to make history for Malaysia.
That’s why Azizulhasni, who is the 2017 keirin world champion, is hoping that the prayers and support of those back home can help propel them to overcome every obstacle in their path as they seek the coveted gold medal.
“I am not asking for much … for all Malaysians, irrespective of whether they are Malays, Chinese, Indians, from Sabah, from Sarawak, to pray for me for the race tomorrow because it is going to be really tough. We have three races on the same day – the quarterfinals, semifinals and final.
“Please pray that everything goes smoothly, there are no accidents, no congestions and such. InsyaAllah, pray too for me to win the gold tomorrow,” he told a local private television station after the race today.
In today’s first round, Azizulhasni advanced to the quarterfinals as expected by winning Heat 3.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Nicholas Paul came in second and Poland’s Patryk Rajkowski was third.
Meanwhile, Shah Firdaus, who suffered injuries after colliding with Britain’s Jack Carlin in Heat 2 of the first round, managed to bounce back in the repechage to join Azizulhasni in the quarterfinals.
“We Malaysian riders have the speed, just not the high power that is needed in the sprint event. That is why I said we have a bright chance in keirin. I’m not saying we are guaranteed to win.
“We still have to work hard, trust in Allah and execute our plan really well … besides being 100% focused on race day,” added Azizulhasni who is also known as The Pocket Rocketman.
In the quarterfinals tomorrow, Azizulhasni who won the keirin bronze at the 2016 Rio edition, is in Heat 3 with Matthew Glaetzer (Australia), Stefan Boetticher (Germany), Yuta Wakimoto (Japan), Denis Dmitriev (Russian Olympic Committee) and Kwesi Browne (Trinidad and Tobago).
Shah Firdaus will battle it out with Carlin in Heat 2, together with Maximilian Levy (Germany), Callum Saunders (New Zealand), Jair Tjon En Fa (Suriname) and Paul.