‘You are forever the jewel of the nation Azizulhasni’ – PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expressed his appreciation to national track cycling champion Datuk Azizulhasni Awang, who competed in the men’s keirin event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games yesterday.

“You are always and forever the jewel of the country; thank you,” said the Prime Minister through a post uploaded in the Facebook Story section against the backdrop of the photo of The Pocket Rocketman.

Azizulhasni, who carried the country’s dream of winning the first gold at the Games, was eliminated as early as the first heat of the men’s keirin event at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome in Paris yesterday.

The 36-year-old was disqualified during the first round of qualifying after he was found to have clipped the derny (an electric bicycle that acts as a pacer) before the derny left the track, so the race was restarted without Azizulhasni.

The silver medalist should have competed with five other riders, namely Matthew Glaetzer from Australia, Rayan Helal (France), Kaiya Ota (Japan), Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands) and Surinamese rider Jair Tjon En Fa.

Heat one was won by Glaetzer, while the second went to Hoogland.