Cycling: Azizul, Josiah get their Beijing ticket

Azizul Hasni Awang beat several former world champions to win his heat on Saturday.

AZIZUL Hasni Awang and Josiah Ng are through to the Olympic Games, doubling Malaysia's record in qualifiers from the last Games but that could change if Malaysia make the cut in the team sprint.

The 19-year-old Azizul turned heads in the opening round of the keirin at the UCI Track World Championships in Manchester on Saturday, when he won a heat featuring former world champions Theo Bos of Holland, Australia's Shane Perkins and France's Arnaud Tournant.

That happened before 2006 Asian champion Rizal Tisin was eliminated after finishing last in his heat and Josiah finished fourth in his heat to make the repechages where he finished third and failed to make the semi-final.

In his semi-final, Azizul was blocked and almost crashed in the final lap, then managed to hold his ground, but having lost momentum, finished last.

With 24 riders making the Olympics in the keirin, Josiah is unlikely to drop from his eighth ranking prior to the World Championships into a position of threat, while Azizul, who was 23rd, is likely to rise a few places, having finished 12th overall in Manchester.
National team manager Datuk Naim Mohamad said Azizul showed he was fast enough to cause damage in his first round heat, but was still inexperienced when it came to tactics.

The team sprint trio of Edrus Yunus, Josiah and Azizul too seem in a good position despite only finishing 15th on the opening day of the World Championships.

"Having checked further, I don't think we will drop further than 12th in the world rankings, meaning it is good enough for us to go to the Olympics," said Naim.

NST