Cycling ace Azizulhasni slams lack of training support

 

Sprint cycling ace Azizulhasni Awang says if he cannot get the support he requires in Malaysia, then it is better for him to return to Australia. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: National cycling ace Azizulhasni Awang has slammed the National Sports Council over delays in setting up an adequate training support system in Malaysia, as it had reportedly promised.

In a Facebook post, Azizulhasni said that in January he had been persuaded to return to Malaysia from his training base in Melbourne, Australia, after repeated discussions with the council.

Azizulhasni said he did not mind returning to Malaysia, so long as the support system was equivalent to or better than that of Melbourne.

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“Unfortunately, from the first meeting there has been no solution. There have been more than 10 discussions with my representatives, and the answers given have been very disappointing,” he said.

Azizulhasni, nicknamed the “Pocket Rocketman”, has won medals in the keirin event at two Olympic Games – a bronze medal at the 2016 games in Rio De Janiero and a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Yesterday, Azizulhasni said he was displeased at having to demand that promises made by the NSC be fulfilled, Astro Awani reported.

He reportedly said the promised improved training support system had yet to come to fruition.

“If I can’t get a good support system, it’s better for me to go back to train in Melbourne. There is a little more than a year left before the Paris Olympics in 2024.

“It’s not that I don’t like being in Malaysia, but for a world-class athlete like me, training in Melbourne is more effective. I can train calmly there without distractions, especially politics in sports (in Malaysia),” he said.

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Azizulhasni added that initially, he had only planned to return to Malaysia upon retiring but agreed to come back for “team and country”, following discussions with the NSC.

“This is not the first time this kind of problem has occurred, it has happened many times. If an elite athlete like me has to suffer like this, imagine the other athletes, it’s a pity,” he said.

Azizulhasni said he has raised this issue with the youth and sports ministry, as well as the Road to Gold programme committee, and was awaiting their response. - FMT