Former national track cyclist Josiah Ng felt that Azizulhasni was in the best shape to bag gold in keirin at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics yesterday but became a victim of circumstances.
Josiah said it was unfortunate for the 33-year-old Dungun-born to be stuck in a bunch and unable to chase Britain’s Jason Kenny at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka.
He said Kenny was smart enough to profit from the senko (early sprint) tactic as he attacked early in the race.
“Azizul could have won the gold. He was on full gas (going all out) during the race, but it was unfortunate for us. Kenny was incredible; it is not an easy tactic but he proved he is the best, a real legend,” he said today.
Australian rider Matthew Glaetzer didn’t put enough effort to chase Kenny’s solo breakaway and many felt that this in a way contributed to Kenny’s victory with many netizens severely criticising Matthew for this.
“Matthew is genuinely a good guy, but not a smart racer. I don’t think it is a pre-planned tactic; it might just happen during the race,” said Josiah, a former world and Commonwealth Games champion who competed at three Olympics.
“He might have his own reasons. He recovered from (thyroid) cancer before competing at the Olympics. In fact, his coach Nicholas Flyger is a former staff member of our National Sports Institute,” said Josiah, who had raced against Glaetzer before.
After yesterday’s triumph, Kenny became Britain’s most decorated Olympian with seven Olympic golds in his career, one more than retired Chris Hoy.
Azizulhasni, the ‘Pocket Rocketman’, has meanwhile been hailed as a national hero for his amazing feat in edging world champion Harrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands to the keirin silver.
The silver was his second Olympic medal, after he became the first Malaysian cyclist to win bronze in the same event at Rio 2016.
Asked if Azizulhasni can realise his golden dream at Paris 2024, Josiah, who was the first in the country to popularise keirin and took part at Athens 2004, said anything can happen in the next three years.
“Changes in the Olympics can happen very fast. A champion in one edition might not qualify for the next edition. But knowing Azizul, he is a disciplined person, he is very attentive to his health and fitness. So he might still be in shape to fight in Paris.
“Based on data, his performance has been improving since his debut at the Olympics (in keirin). He finished 10th at Beijing 2008, then improved to sixth at London 2012, bronze at Rio 2016 and now silver at Tokyo,” he said.