KUALA LUMPUR – With the Paris Olympics wrapping up next Monday, Malaysia’s quest for gold is in the final stretch, as the nation strives to end a 68-year drought for a gold medal at the world’s biggest sporting event.
Out of 26 athletes, Malaysia now have only six athletes remaining across three sports (track cycling, golf and diving), and the country’s best chance at securing the coveted gold medal lies with track cycling star Datuk Azizulhasni Awang.
Adding to the pressure, three of our neighbouring countries have already secured gold medals at Paris 2024. The Philippines took the lead, with gymnast Carlos Yulo contributing two golds in the men’s floor and vault in artistic gymnastics.
Indonesia, initially disappointed by missing out on gold in their stronghold sport of badminton, breathed a sigh of relief when Veddriq Leonardo pulled off a surprise by winning gold in wall climbing, followed by another gold from weightlifter Rizki Juniansyah.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s gold medal came from their world champion in taekwondo, Panipak Wongpattanakit.
Azizul has the chance to follow in their footsteps and become Malaysia’s first gold medallist when he starts the keirin event tomorrow at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome.
This is the last bet for Malaysia’s track cycling team, as Azizul and his teammate, Shah Firdaus Sahrom, failed to advance far in the sprint event two days ago.
“I plan to win the gold medal, not silver or bronze, but let’s see how it goes,” Azizul, who won a bronze medal in Rio 2016 and silver in Tokyo 2020, told Bernama.
“Based on my performance in the sprint, John Beasley (his coach) said I have good leg strength and speed, but the keirin is a different race.
“In the sprint, technically, everyone uses a high gear and you need to start from a stationary position, which requires a lot of energy.
“In keirin, we build up some momentum, and it’s more about speed and tactics, which could also give me an advantage.”
Although Azizul did not advance far in the sprint event, the 2017 world champion can still take pride in breaking his national record by clocking 9.402sec in the qualification round, securing 10th place.
This performance surpassed his previous record of 9.523sec set at the Asian Cycling Championships in Nilai last year. – August 9, 2024