PETALING JAYA: Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri chalked a new milestone in her growing cycling career after securing bronze in the women's keirin final at Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka today (Sept 30).
Malaysia had two women cyclists in the main keirin final for the first time and it was Izzah who managed to sneak up behind China's Wang Lijuan to earn her first individual medal in Asian Games cycling.
It was Izzah's first individual medal in Asiad.
Yuan Liying romped to the keirin gold for China while fellow Malaysian cyclist Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid placed fifth.
Alyssa had won Heat 1 of the semi-finals ahead of Liying while Izzah had come in second behind Lijuan in Heat 2 to advance to the main final.
In the men's sprint event, track cycling legend Azizulhasni Awang stormed to the quarter-finals with ease as Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom's progress was halted in the second round.
Azizul defeated India's David Beckham Elkatohchoongo in the first round followed by Kazakhstan's Kirill Kurdidi in the second round to secure his place in the last eight.
Azizul will face Japan's Kanata Takahashi for a spot in the semi-finals tomorrow.
The 38-year-old showed he is in fine form after qualifying third overall on 9.467 seconds at the start of the day.
His time was only less than a tenth of a second off his national record of 9.402s set at the Paris Olympics in 2024
