Track star can return to elite programme if he reaches top eight
KUALA LUMPUR: Track cycling ace Azizulhasni Awang may be operating as an independent athlete but he is very much on the radar of the Road To Gold (RTG) management.
RTG coordinator Datuk Stuart Ramalingam said they will include the former world keirin champion into the elite programme as long as he makes it into the top eight in the world.
“Datuk Azizul’s performance has been improving over time and we are monitoring all the athletes regardless of whether they are under the national programme or not. We are always open to Datuk Azizul returning to the RTG.
“But as everyone knows, the RTG’s set criteria now is that the athlete has to be in the top eight in the world,” he said.
Azizul has made a remarkable improvement since he decided to resume competitive cycling late last year after almost a one year break from the sport.
From being outside the top 200 at the start of the year, the 38-year-old is currently ranked 23rd in the elite world rankings.
The Dungun-born cyclist has had a strong season so far. He emerged the overall keirin champion in the Track World Cup series after winning two keirin gold (in Perth and Nilai). He also claimed two individual sprint bronzes.
Azizul also impressed at the Japan Track Cup series in Shizuoka last week with one silver (keirin) and two bronze medals (one keirin, one individual sprint) competing against a quality field that included top cyclists from Japan and Britain.
Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom is the only cyclist in the RTG programme. Shah Firdaus retained his spot despite slipping out of the top 20 as the RTG programme took into consideration the recovery period he needed after going for operation in September last year.
Shah Firdaus, currently ranked No. 81, showed encouraging performances since he came back last month.
He managed to win the gold at the Indonesia Track Cup and silver at the recent Japan Track Cup.
RTG will no longer be a top-up programme as previously described but a full-time programme from this year.
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