KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang has the drive to bring home gold for the country at the 2024 Paris Olympics, said Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
She added that the national track cyclist is not someone she worries about when it comes to performing on the biggest stage.
“I’m not worried about Azizulhasni; he has the drive to get gold for the country.
“We are in the critical stage in terms of qualification for the Paris Games, and whatever his coaches say is best for him, we will listen.
“The National Sports Institute and his doctors give us regular updates on his condition.
“Right now he is in Australia, and there are doctors there attending to him,” Hannah told the media after officiating the Sime Darby Foundation Women and Girls in Sports Forum, here today.
On Friday, the Pocket Rocketman won gold in his pet keirin event at the Nation’s Cup in Adelaide.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist was on his way to potentially bagging a second medal, but had to pull out of the bronze medal playoff in the men’s sprint after suffering symptoms of pericarditis.
Pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium, the thin sac that surrounds the heart, that often causes sharp chest pain.
Azizulhasni is currently looking like the only Road to Gold (RTG) athlete who can potentially deliver a medal for the country in Paris.
Hannah said athletes in the programme have been given the support they need to excel.
“Like what Datuk Lee Chong Wei (RTG committee member) said earlier, everyone needs to buck up.
“There is no question that there is not enough money for training; the government has given all the support that the athletes need.
“The prime minister has given a generous budget for RTG, so from now until Paris, it is in the hands of the athletes,” added Hannah. – January 6, 2024