Azizul pulls a surprise by including another event in his last C’wealth show

Late gamble: Azizulhasni Awang’s last-minute decision to race the 1km time trial could open another medal opportunity in Glasgow.

PETALING JAYA: It was a last minute decision but it could prove a rewarding one for veteran track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang in his farewell Commonwealth Games campaign.

Azizul, after discussions with the team management, will also compete in the men’s 1km time trial in addition to his main events, the individual sprint and keirin.

Azizul will firstly race in keirin at the Sir Chris How Velodrome on Friday followed by the individual sprint the next day and then the 1km time trial on Sunday.

The former world keirin champion has not raced the time trial in a major championships for over a decade now but it is not impossible for Azizul to finish on the podium if the opportunity presents itself.

The 38-year-old raced the 1km time trial at the National Championships in Nilai last month and won gold after clocking 1:01.134s despite admitting he was not in peak form at the time.

The 1km time trial event may possibly turn out to be the last medal event involving a Malaysian athlete in Glasgow and technical director John Beasley believed how Azizul would fare would depend on how fresh his legs would be on the day.

“The keirin is his main focus in Glasgow. We are putting all the eggs in the keirin but he has agreed to race in the kilo (1km time trial). We are now going to have a crack at the kilo event on the last day as well,” said Beasley. “If Azizul goes deep in the individual sprint, I would say he probably won’t have a chance in the kilo because of how the schedule are planned.

“But if he does not go far in the sprint, he will pack a fair punch in the kilo. He will definitely clock a sub one minute time and whether that is fast enough to win it I don’t know.

“But if he can go under a minute, which I believe he is capable of, I would say he will definitely be on the podium. He may have to break the national record to do that.

“But speaking of Azizul, he is who he is. He is capable of just about anything on the day. He is in good shape at the moment, so we just have to wait and see.”

Mohd Fadhil Zonis holds the national record of 1:0.305s for the 1km time trial, which he achieved at the World Championships in Berlin in 2020.

Fadhil was not picked for the Commonwealth Games this time.

At the last Commonwealth Games in Birmingham four years ago, the now-retired Australian Matthew Glaetzer won gold in the event on 59.505s with teammate Thomas Cornish (1:00.036s) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Nicholas Paul (1:00.089s) taking silver and bronze respectively.

Azizul did not compete in Birmingham as he was still recovering from open heart surgery at the time.

The surgery was to correct a coronary artery anomaly he had suffered from since birth.