Azizul’s humility is exemplary for one who has scaled such great heights

Azizul’s humility is exemplary for one who has scaled such great heights

The Star Online - Sport·2021-08-10 08:01

IT was in March 2007, when I met Azizulhasni Awang for the first time during a media function.

Azizul came to me while I was talking to the then top Malaysian cyclist Josiah Ng and thanked me for highlighting him in an article.

“Thanks for supporting us. I am Azizul. Josiah said you are supportive of the Malaysian cycling team,” said Azizul, who was only 19 and learning to speak English.

That article was on Azizul when he qualified for his first world track championships in Mallorca, Spain.

He was just starting to stamp his mark on the national cycling scene with triple Asian junior titles won the previous year.

Azizul and Rizal Tisin were then sent to Melbourne to train together with Josiah that year.

It was not long before Azizul began to take over from Josiah as the number one national track cyclist in sprint and keirin.

He went to his first Olympics in Beijing in 2008 as the reigning Asian champion for sprint and keirin.

He finished 10th in the keirin and never looked back. If Josiah was the one who blazed the trail, it was Azizul who took things further as he made history for Malaysian cycling with wins at the World Cup and podiums at the world championships.

It was in 2009 when Azizul first arrived on the world stage with a historic silver finish in the sprint.

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