COACH John Beasley said it was time for Azizulhasni Awang to move on to the next phase of his life after a tragic end in his fifth Olympic Games outing in Paris.
Azizul’s campaign in Paris came to a disappointing end after he was disqualified in his first round men’s keirin heat for overtaking the derny before it left the track at the Saint-Quentinen-Yvelines Velodrome.
Beasley felt Azizul’s pain as the cyclist sat brooding in a corner after finding out he was disqualified on Saturday. He was even unable to continue in the repechage.
“He has given 17 years of service to the country. It has been a long and distinguished career, he won his first world championship medal back in 2009.
“I think it is now time to get on with the next part of his life. He has four beautiful daughters and also has six subjects (sports science) to finish in university.
“For me, his value lies somewhere in (sports) management. Heading up high-performance sports in Malaysia would be something nice but that is just my selfish goal for him.
“I believe he can make real change for sports in Malaysia but he has to want to do it.
“He has to get out of bed everyday and have a strong passion to make change, mine (passion) is this (coaching).”
Beasley said it pained him to see the cyclist struggling to deal with the outcome and knows it will take time to heal.
“It’s something he needs to carry on with for the rest of his life,” said Beasley.
“I’m deeply sorry for him. He was alone in the room and did not come out for dinner.
“He is grappling with what has happened. We all share in his sadness and I can almost feel his anguish.
“For someone who has devoted his life to achieve cycling excellence, to end your career like this feels like a nightmare.
“The most heartbreaking part for him is that he was in peak form.
“Training has gone well and it’s incredibly cruel that it ended like this,” said Beasley, who has been coaching Azizul for 17 years.
He urged all Malaysians to rally behind Azizul.
“To all Malaysians, someone needs your support now more than ever. It’s easy to stand by someone when they’re at their peak, but true character, both of a person and a nation, shines through when we support them in their hardest times.
“We are close to him and we will be around to help him recover.”
