PETALING JAYA: It's definitely his last Olympic appearance as track cycling legend Azizulhasni Awang wants Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom to continue his legacy in Los Angeles in four years time.
The 36-year-old two-time Olympic medallist congratulated Shah Firdaus for his achievement in reaching the men's keirin final on Sunday and said Malaysia have found his successor in the sport.
In the final at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, Shah Firdaus was in a good position to secure the bronze medal coming out into the final straight but Japan's Shinji Nakano made contact with him and both crashed, taking down Britain's Jack Carlin in the process.
Shah Firdaus initially placed fourth but was then relegated to sixth place for moving down to the inside of the track when an opponent was already there.
It was still his best outing at the Olympics after only reaching the quarter-finals in his debut in Tokyo three years ago.
"To enter the Keirin final (final) at the Olympic Games is not an easy thing, that is a fact.
"At the Tokyo Olympics, he was eliminated in the quarter-finals and this time in Paris his appearance in the final was a very outstanding performance.
"Entering the remaining 100m of the race, Shah came with a convincing speed to bring home at least the bronze medal but there was a crash at the last corner, which caused him to fall.
"It's a performance that we should all be proud of and I hope that Shah will continue to work hard to improve his performance from time to time to continue to excel at the international level," said Azizul.
"The most important thing is to use the four years from now as best as possible to prepare for LA2028.
"I believe Shah will be much better and can do much better in LA2028.
"The baton has been passed. I am sending it to you, Shah Firdaus. Stop talking about me. It's not about me anymore."
Azizul manage to break his national sprint record but his fifth Olympic outing turned to misery when he was disqualified in the first round of the keirin event last week.
