Azizulhasni Awang

Mohd Azizulhasni bin Awang KMN (born 5 January 1988) is a Malaysian professional track cyclist.[3] Nicknamed "The Pocket Rocketman" due to his small stature, he is the first Malaysian cyclist to win a medal at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships and at the Summer Olympics.[4][5]

In this Malay name, the name Awang is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Mohd Azizulhasni. The Arabic-derived word "bin" or "binti"/"binte", if used, means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Azizulhasni Awang
Azizulhasni in 2020
Personal information
Full nameMohd Azizulhasni bin Awang
NicknamePocketrocketman
Born (1988-01-05) 5 January 1988
Kuala Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia[1]
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[2]
Weight67 kg (148 lb)
Team information
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider
Rider typeSprinter
Amateur team
Dungun Cycling Team
Professional team
2009Bike Technologies Australia

Azizulhasni was chosen as the flag bearer for Malaysia at the 2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations. He won his first World Championship medal in 2009, a silver in the individual sprint.[6] At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he won his first Olympic medal, a bronze in the individual keirin.[7]

In 2017, he won his first World Championship title in the keirin,[8] and became the first Malaysian to ever wear the coveted rainbow jersey.[9]

Background

Azizulhasni was born in Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia. He is the eighth of nine children in his family.[10] He received his primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu 48 and continued his secondary studies at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Omar in Dungun, before transferring to National Sport School in Bukit Jalil.

Azizul took up cycling aged 10, before the late Rozimi Omar discovered him, and convinced him that he had the talent to succeed.[11] He was thankful to his late father for giving him a bicycle as a reward after he obtained 4A 1B in his UPSR.[12] Azizul received three offers from MRSM, Science School, and the Bukit Jalil Sports School after his PMR. At that time he had an ambition to be either a physician or an athlete and ultimately chose the Sports School due to his interest in cycling.

Career

Azizulhasni's greatest achievement is winning the gold medal in 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships[13] and bronze medal in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil in keirin. Among his other achievements is winning the silver medal at the 2009 World Championships in the sprint category and the silver medal at the 2010 World Championships in the keirin category. He was named Malaysian Sportsman of the Year in 2009 and 2010.[4]

In February 2011, Azizul was involved in a crash during the final of the keirin event in the World Cup leg in Manchester where he suffered serious injury when a 20 cm wooden splinter pierced through his leg. He was ruled out of the World Championships that year.[14]

At 2017 Southeast Asian Games Azizul made it 111th for Malaysia as the country finally achieved its overall Sea Games medal target after he won in the men's sprint category at the National Velodrome in Nilai. Azizul also the flag-bearers for Malaysia at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games alongside two reigning world champions diver Cheong Jun Hoong and silat exponent Mohd Al-Jufferi Jamari.[15][16]

Personal life

Azizul is studying sports science (Bachelor of Sport Movement) at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia.[17] In 2015, he became the first non-Australian athlete to receive a Blue Award from Victoria University.[4][18]

Azizul married Athiah Ilyana Abd Samat on 30 January 2010. The couple live in Melbourne with their two daughters.[19]

Achievements
Track Cycling World Ranking
World Championships
Asian Games
Commonwealth Games
Olympic Games

Awards and achievements
  • Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM)-100Plus Best Athlete Award: 2009, 2017[20]

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

References
  1. Mohd Azizulhasni Awang Archived 2 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
  2. "Athlete Biography – AWANG Mohd Azizulhasni". Beijing Olympics official website. Archived from the original on 9 August 2008.
  3. Azizulhasni Awang at Cycling Archives
  4. Azizulhasni Awang. nbcolympics.com
  5. "'Pocket rocket' wins Malaysia's first track medal". New Straits Times. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. https://www.olympic.org/rio-2016/cycling-track/keirin-men
  8. http://www.uci.ch/track/news/article/thrilling-racing-day-two-track-world-championships/
  9. http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/cycling/2017/04/14/the-new-king-of-keirin-azizul-finally-wins-coveted-rainbow-jersey-after-a-10year-wait/
  10. AZIZUL HASNI AWANG
  11. http://www.themalaymailonline.com/sports/article/rough-ride-to-stardom
  12. http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2009&dt=0405&pub=kosmo&sec=rencana_utama&pg=ru_01.htm
  13. "Awang Azizulhasni revels in Malaysia's first world track gold". Eurosport. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  14. "Azizulhasni Awang ruled out of World Championships after surgery on splinter". Daily Mail. 23 February 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  15. :Lim Teik Huat (7 August 2017). "KJ: Three world champs to be flag-bearers at SEA Games opening ceremony". TheStarOnline. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  16. Azharie, Farah (29 August 2017). "Azizulhasni: Making it 111 gold medals for Malaysia at the Sea Games 2017". NSTOnline. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  17. "VU scholar brings home bronze in Rio". vu.edu.au. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  18. "VU Sports Awards". vu.edu.au.
  19. "Azizulhasni's bronze medal, the fruit of family sacrifice". The Malay Mail. 17 August 2016.
  20. Lim, Teik Huat (2 March 2018). "Azizulhasni bags his second SAM-100Plus award on the trot". The Star. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  21. Rajes Paul (10 September 2017). "Chong Wei all fired up". The Star. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  22. "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".
  23. "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".
Olympic Games
Preceded by
Bryan Nickson Lomas		 Flagbearer for  Malaysia
Beijing 2008		 Succeeded by
Pandelela Rinong
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