Malaysian superstar Azizulhasni Awang has posted a lengthy apology for Saturday’s disqualification from the men’s keirin competition at the Paris Olympics.
The country’s hopes of winning its first gold medal in Olympic history rested largely on the Pocket Rocketman; but he was excluded for riding in front of the pacer during his first round heat.
‘When I saw my name marked with ‘disqualification,’ the world seemed to stop,’ Azizul wrote (in Malay) on Instagram. ‘My body, which was ready to perform, suddenly turned cold and stiff. The entire velodrome fell silent, even though it was actually filled with cheers from the spectators present.
‘I still did not want to give up and waited for a miracle to happen. I waited with high hopes for the final ‘repecharge’ list to be released to ensure my name was on it. But in the end, I remained disappointed. I immediately packed my bags and chose to leave the area because I could not accept the reality that the race would go on without me participating.
‘Asked me to retire’
‘I came to Paris full of hope, carrying the important mission of our beloved country. Perhaps some might say that setting such high expectations caused me to lose control. Not at all, everything was in its proper place.’
Azizul again confirmed that Paris would be his final Olympics.
‘I remembered the promises I made to my mother, wife, and children that this would be my last Olympic appearance when they all asked me to retire after recovering from heart surgery (in April 2022). I wondered if all of this happened because I went against their previous requests.’
But there are suggestions that he has not yet ridden his last race. Articles mention a possibility of him racing keirin in Japan; and we know he was at the DerbyWheel induction held in Melbourne in December 2023.
‘Guarantee’
Azizul reflected on his guilt at shattering the high hopes of the entire team. ‘The saddest moment was remembering the reaction from coach John Beasley, who was so heartbroken and couldn’t hold back his emotions.’
Beasley, returning from Paris, called for patience. ‘Give Malaysia that privilege to look after their best of the best,’ he said, ‘and I’ll guarantee it will reward you tenfold. But if you stop it, we start at the beginning all over again.’
Malaysia launched a Road To Gold programme last year: but although Paris did not produce the country’s first ever gold medal, Beasley said he sees positive indicators already. ‘There were some really good performances,’ he said, quoted in Malaysia’s The Sun, ‘so please don’t take that away from the athletes and the RTG programme.’
‘Shown you 99%’
The country’s hopes now pass to Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom, who made his way to the Olympic keirin final, only to be disqualified for causing the final-corner crash which took Matthew Glaetzer from last place on the track, to the third step of the podium.
Awang backed his countryman to succeed in the next Olympic cycle. Commenting on Shah Firdaus’s latest Instagram post, he said: ‘I’m glad that I’ve shown you 99% of how to be world class athlete before I retired. Why do I reserved that 1%? Just in case bro… just in case… 😉’