KUALA LUMPUR – In a strategic move to gear up for the road to the 2024 Paris Olympics, national track cycling maestro Datuk Azizulhasni Awang will be setting up camp in Australia.
Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) acting deputy president Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill confirmed this to Scoop when contacted.
The decision comes in the wake of the staged closure of the national track cycling team’s Melbourne base earlier this year.
Azizulhasni, popularly known as “the Pocket Rocketman,” detailed his frustration with the National Sports Council last June, highlighting the impact of the Australian base closure on the entire track cycling squad, which forced them to return to Malaysia.
However, Amarjit clarified that Azizulhasni’s current training stint in Melbourne was not a permanent relocation until the Paris Olympics.
Instead, the elite cyclist is gearing up for competitions with a packed schedule.
“… Starting with the Nations Cup in Adelaide and the Asian Championships in India in February, followed by events in Hong Kong in March, and Milton in Canada the following month.
“The (Olympic) qualification decision will come out in mid-April, so after that, I believe he will come back to Nilai to train,” said Amarjit, who is also an International Cycling Union management committee member.
He added that Nilai will serve as a training hub before the team’s European stint for final preparations leading up to the Paris Games.
As the only member of the track cycling team currently training in Melbourne, Azizulhasni benefits from a dedicated support team.
Amarjit also highlighted Azizulhasni’s unique training arrangement, indicating a specialised team overseeing his preparations in Australia.
“He has his team who is looking after him while he is there,” he briefly explained.
In September, Azizulhasni was involved in a high-speed crash during training at the National Velodrome in Nilai, resulting in soft-tissue damage and bone and muscle contusions.
This setback led to his withdrawal from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
However, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist made a triumphant return to action in Melbourne last month, securing a silver medal in the keirin at the Austral Wheel Race. – January 1, 2024