Azizulhasni Awang
Mohd Azizulhasni bin Awang (born 5 January 1988)[3] is a Malaysian professional track cyclist. Nicknamed "The Pocket Rocketman" due to his small stature, he is the first Malaysian cyclist to win a medal at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships and at the Summer Olympics.[4][5]
Azizulhasni was chosen as the flag bearer for Malaysia at the 2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations. He won his first World Championship medal in 2009, a silver in individual sprint. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the individual keirin.
Background
Azizulhasni was born in Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia. He is the seventh of eighth children in his family.[6] He received his primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu 48 and continued his secondary studies at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Omar in Dungun, before transferring to National Sport School in Bukit Jalil.
Azizul took up cycling aged 10[4] after watching his brother racing. He was coached by the Dungun Cycling Team before entering the Sport School. He was thankful to his late father for giving him a second hand bicycle as a reward after he obtained 7A 1B in his Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR). Azizul received three offers from MRSM, Science School, and the Bukit Jalil Sports School after his PMR. At that time he had an ambition to be either a physician or an athlete and ultimately chose the Sports School due to his interest in cycling.
Career
Azizulhasni's greatest achievement is winning the bronze medal in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil in keirin. Among his other achievements is winning 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.[4]
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.[7]
Personal life
Azizul is studying sports science (Bachelor of Sport Movement) at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia.[8] In 2015 he became the first non-Australian athlete to receive a Blue Award from Victoria University.[4][9]
Azizul married Athiah Ilyana bt Abd Samat on 30 January 2010. The couple live in Melbourne with their two daughters.[10]
Medal history
- 2016 – Keirin
References
- ↑ Mohd Azizulhasni Awang. sports-reference.com
- ↑ "Athlete Biography – AWANG Mohd Azizulhasni". Beijing Olympics official website. Archived from the original on 9 August 2008.
- ↑ Azizulhasni Awang profile at Cycling Archives
- 1 2 3 4 Azizulhasni Awang. nbcolympics.com
- ↑ "'Pocket rocket' wins Malaysia's first track medal". New Straits Times. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ↑ AZIZUL HASNI AWANG
- ↑ "Azizulhasni Awang ruled out of World Championships after surgery on splinter". Mail Online. 23 February 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ↑ "VU scholar brings home bronze in Rio". vu.edu.au. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
- ↑ "VU Sports Awards". vu.edu.au.
- ↑ "Azizulhasni's bronze medal, the fruit of family sacrifice". Malay Mail. 17 August 2016.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Azizulhasni Awang. |
Olympic Games | ||
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Preceded by Bryan Nickson Lomas |
Flagbearer for Malaysia Beijing 2008 |
Succeeded by Pandelela Rinong |