KJ: Stop pressuring Azizul to continue until LA2028 Olympics

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (pic) feels track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang should not be pressured into extending his career until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Khairy stressed that Azizul, now 38, should be left to make that decision with his family.

Azizul had planned to retire after the Paris Olympics in 2024 but then agreed to postpone it until after the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in October this year.

“He will race until the Asian Games and after that he will have to discuss with his family (what he intends to do),” said Khairy when met at the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) appreciation function yesterday.

“I do not think it’s fair for us to pressure him to continue until LA2028 as he is almost 40 now. He has already sacrificed a lot of time away from his family over the years.”

Azizul made the decision to leave the national programme in April last year to become an independent rider and it has clearly paid dividends for the former keirin world champion rider.

Despite his advancing years, Azizul showed he remains a force to be reckoned with after stunning Britain’s star Matthew Richardson and world champ Harrie Lavreysen of Holland en route to winning two keirin golds and two individual sprint bronzes in the Track World Cup series this season.

Azizul created history when he became the first Malaysian to win an Olympic medal in cycling (keirin bronze) at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

He went on to win keirin silver at Tokyo 2020 but his campaign at Paris 2024 ended in a major heartbreak when he was disqualified after overtaking the derny in his opening round keirin heat.

Khairy added it is important to give Azizul the full support he needs should he decide to continue until Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.