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Azizulhasni Awang

Yang Berbahagia Dato'
Azizulhasni Awang
Azizulhasni in 2020
Personal information
Full nameMuhammad Azizulhasni bin Awang
NicknameThe Pocket Rocketman
Born (1988-01-05) 5 January 1988 (age 36)
Kuala Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia[1]
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[2]
Team information
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider
Rider typeSprinter
Amateur team
Dungun Cycling Team
Professional team
2009Bike Technologies Australia
Medal record
Representing  Malaysia
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 1 1
World Championships 1 2 4
Asian Games 2 1 1
Asian Championships 12 7 6
SEA Games 3 2 0
Commonwealth Games 0 0 2
Total 18 13 14
Men's track cycling
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Keirin
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Keirin
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Hong Kong Keirin
Silver medal – second place 2009 Pruszków Sprint
Silver medal – second place 2010 Ballerup Keirin
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Yvelines Keirin
Bronze medal – third place 2016 London Keirin
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Berlin Keirin
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Berlin Sprint
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou Keirin
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Sprint
Silver medal – second place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Team sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Keirin
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Bangkok Keirin
Gold medal – first place 2008 Nara Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2008 Nara Keirin
Gold medal – first place 2009 Tenggarong Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2009 Tenggarong Team sprint
Gold medal – first place 2014 Astana Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2015 Nakhon Ratchasima Keirin
Gold medal – first place 2017 New Delhi Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2019 Jakarta Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2020 Jincheon Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2023 Nilai Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2023 Nilai Keirin
Silver medal – second place 2008 Nara Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2012 Kuala Lumpur Sprint
Silver medal – second place 2012 Kuala Lumpur Keirin
Silver medal – second place 2014 Astana Keirin
Silver medal – second place 2015 Nakhon Ratchasima Sprint
Silver medal – second place 2018 Nilai Sprint
Silver medal – second place 2020 Jincheon Keirin
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Nakhon Ratchasima Sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Nakhon Ratchasima Keirin
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Izu Sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Izu Keirin
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Nilai Keirin
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Jakarta Team sprint
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2010 New Delhi Team sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Glasgow Keirin
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2017 Kuala Lumpur Keirin
Gold medal – first place 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima 1 km time trial
Silver medal – second place 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima Sprint

Dato' Muhammad Azizulhasni bin Awang DPMT KMN AMN (born 5 January 1988) is a Malaysian professional track cyclist based in Melbourne, Australia.[3][4] Nicknamed "The Pocket Rocketman" due to his small stature, he was the first and only Malaysian cyclist to win a medal at the Summer Olympics.[5] He also became the first Malaysian to have competed in the Olympics five times.[6]

Azizulhasni was Team Malaysia's national flag bearer at the 2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations. He won his first World Championship medal in 2009, a silver medal in the individual sprint.[7] His debut Olympic medal came at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where he won a bronze in the individual keirin.[8] In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he won a silver medal in the same category of individual keirin.[9]

In 2017, he won his first World Championship title in the keirin,[10] and became the first Malaysian to ever wear the coveted rainbow jersey.[11]

Competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Men's keirin qualifier, he was disqualified for cycling ahead of the derny motorbike used as a pacer before it left the track. National track head coach John Beasley called it a monumental mistake, and said: "The rule is clear and we were more than one length in front and it didn't give me any room to argue about it.[12]

Early life and education

Azizulhasni was born in Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia to his biological parent Awang Embong and Rokiah Husin. He is the eighth of nine children in his family and was adopted by Mustafa Ngah and Selamiah Yong.[13][14] Azizul took up cycling at 10 years old, and was later discovered by his first coach Rozimi Omar who had advised him to stop skateboarding and focus on cycling.[15][16]

He was thankful to his late father for giving him a bicycle as a reward after he obtained 4A 1B in his UPSR.[17] Azizul received his primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu 48 and continued his secondary studies at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Omar in Dungun. After his PMR examination, he received three offers from MRSM, Science School and the Bukit Jalil Sports School. Ultimately chose to transfer to national sport school in Bukit Jalil as his interest in cycling and also due to his ambition to be a physician or an athlete at that time.[citation needed]

Azizul moved to Australia in 2007, settling in Melbourne.[3] He had also majored in sports science (Bachelor of Sport Movement) at Victoria University (VU).[18] In 2015, he became the first non-Australian athlete to receive a Blue Award from Victoria University.[19][20]

Career

Azizulhasni won the gold medal in 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships[21] and silver medal in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in keirin. He won the silver medal at the 2009 World Championships in the sprint category and the silver medal at the 2010 World Championships in the keirin category. He was named Malaysian Sportsman of the Year in 2009 and 2010.[19]

In February 2011, Azizul was involved in a crash during the final of the keirin event in the World Cup leg in Manchester where he suffered serious injury when a 20 cm wooden splinter pierced through his leg. He was ruled out of the World Championships that year.[22]

At the 2017 Southeast Asian Games Azizul was the 111th gold medal winner, achieving Malaysia's gold medal goal after emerging champion in the men's sprint category at the National Velodrome in Nilai. Azizul was also the flag-bearer for Malaysia at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games alongside diver Cheong Jun Hoong and silat exponent Mohd Al-Jufferi Jamari.[23][24]

Personal life

Dato' Azizul married To' Puan Athiah Ilyana Abd Samat on 30 January 2010.[13] The couple are Australian permanent residents and live in Melbourne with their four daughters.[3][25]

Achievements

Track Cycling World Ranking
World Championships
Asian Games
Commonwealth Games
Olympic Games

Awards and achievements

  • Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM)-100Plus Best Athlete Award: 2009, 2017[26]

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

See also

References

  1. ^ Mohd Azizulhasni Awang Archived 2 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ "Athlete Biography – AWANG Mohd Azizulhasni". Beijing Olympics official website. Archived from the original on 9 August 2008.
  3. ^ a b c "Azizulhasni's bronze medal, the fruit of family sacrifice". www.malaymail.com. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2024. ...who is based in Melbourne since 2007.
  4. ^ Azizulhasni Awang at Cycling Archives (archived)
  5. ^ "'Pocket rocket' wins Malaysia's first track medal". New Straits Times. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  6. ^ Teik Huat, Lim (15 April 2024). "Azizulhasni's Paris Olympics spot confirmed, to be first Malaysian to compete in five games". The Star. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Azizulhasni menang perak Kejohanan Dunia" (in Malay). Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Rio 2016 Keirin men Results". Olympics. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Cycling Track - Men's Keirin". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Thrilling racing on day two of UCI Track World Championships presented by Tissot". Union Cycliste Internationale. 13 April 2017. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  11. ^ Lim Teik Huat (14 April 2017). "Azizul finally wins coveted rainbow jersey after a 10-year wait". The Star. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Beasley says Azizul still in shock, admits mistake and apologises," The Star.
  13. ^ a b "Thank you to my lovely wife, Athiah Ilyana". Azizulhasni Awang. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2021 – via Facebook.
  14. ^ "Azizul Hasni Awang". Portal Maklumat Rakyat. Ministry of Information. 11 July 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  15. ^ Wan Noriza Meor Idris (1 March 2015). "Rough ride to stardom". Malay Mail. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  16. ^ Arnaz M. Khairul (3 November 2015). "The national hero we never knew: A tribute to Rozimi Omar". New Straits Times. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  17. ^ Fatimi Ndaiah Zainudeen; Norzasrudin Mohamed Nor. "Jaguh dari Dungun". Kosmo! (in Malay). Archived from the original on 8 April 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  18. ^ "VU scholar brings home bronze in Rio". vu.edu.au. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  19. ^ a b Azizulhasni Awang[permanent dead link]. nbcolympics.com
  20. ^ "VU Sports Awards". vu.edu.au.
  21. ^ "Awang Azizulhasni revels in Malaysia's first world track gold". Eurosport. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  22. ^ "Azizulhasni Awang to have 20cm splinter surgically removed after crash". The Guardian. 20 February 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  23. ^ Lim Teik Huat (7 August 2017). "KJ: Three world champs to be flag-bearers at SEA Games opening ceremony". TheStarOnline. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  24. ^ Azharie, Farah (29 August 2017). "Azizulhasni: Making it 111 gold medals for Malaysia at the Sea Games 2017". NSTOnline. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  25. ^ "Beasley believes Azizul will shine in next phase of life". The Star. 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  26. ^ Lim, Teik Huat (2 March 2018). "Azizulhasni bags his last SAM-100Plus award on the trot". The Star. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  27. ^ a b "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".
  28. ^ Rajes Paul (10 September 2017). "Chong Wei all fired up". The Star. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  29. ^ "Azizulhasni, lima doktor dikurnia gelaran Datuk" (in Malay). Harian Metro. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  30. ^ Lim Teik Huat (19 July 2021). "Right mojo for Jojo". The Star. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for  Malaysia
Beijing 2008
Succeeded by