Azizulhasni to lead national contingent to Asian Games

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Sports Council (MSN) has confirmed that national track cycling ace Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang will carry Malaysia’s challenge at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, which kicks off from 19 September to 4 October.

This was confirmed by MSN Director-General Jefri Ngadirin, who informed that the name of the 38-year-old rider has already been listed in the national contingent.

“Yes, Azizulhasni will compete. His name has been listed, and he is currently in the final phase of training camp in Brisbane with the national team in preparation for Aichi-Nagoya,” he told reporters after the Jalur Gemilang handover ceremony for the national contingent to Aichi-Nagoya 2026 at Bukit Jalil yesterday.

This confirmation marks Azizulhasni’s return to the Asian Games stage, after his last appearance was at the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 edition.

In that edition, Azizulhasni successfully brought home one gold medal via the sprint event, in addition to securing a silver medal (team sprint) and a bronze for the keirin event.

However, he was unable to compete in the 2023 Hangzhou edition after suffering injuries to his left foot and hip, following an accident he experienced during a training session at the Nilai National Velodrome.

After competing in Asia’s largest multi-sport Games, Azizulhasni is scheduled to compete at the Track World Championships in Shanghai, which offers ranking points for the pursuit of slots to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

For the record, Azizulhasni previously made history by becoming the first Malaysian cyclist to win an Olympic medal in a track event, with a keirin bronze at Rio 2016, before adding a silver medal at Tokyo 2020.

Utusan Malaysia