Malaysia’s track cycling icon Aziulhasni Awang is no stranger to world championships.
The cycling ace clinched gold in the men’s elite individual sprint event at the 35th Asian Cycling Championship (ACC) in New Delhi back in February.
He was also the man who made history when he won Malaysia’s first ever Olympics medal in cycling after finishing third in the men’s Keirin final.
Apart from that, he has at least six silver and bronze medals under his belt from the Commonwealth games and world championships.
Now, the 29-year-old has set his eyes on acing another world championship — the 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships that will take place on Hong Kong from 12 until 16 April.
However, Azizulhasni, who is an Olympics bronze medalist, still feels like he can do much better at the world championship. He doesn’t want to settle for a podium finish, not even for bronze or silver — he wants to be the champion.
“I’ve been trying for many years to become the world champion. I want to experience what it feels like to wear the rainbow jersey at the World Championships.” he told The Star.
“At my age, I’m feeling stronger than before. I was surprised that I was still able to win the sprint title at the Asian Championships in New Delhi two months ago despite having gone through only two weeks of training.”
“With my current performance level, I feel I can fight for the gold in Hong Kong. I will work on my speed in Melbourne from tomorrow. Hopefully my 10th campaign will be the best for me.”
Azizulhasni also added that he will be focusing on speed training for the next two weeks in preparation for the keirin and sprint event in Hong Kong. While Azizulhasni does his part in putting in the hours in training, he also hopes that his supporters will pray for his success.
“And I hope all my Malaysian supporters pray that I succeed to bring back the gold for the country.” Azizulhasni added.
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