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Azizulhasni, dubbed the “Pocket Rocketman”, achieved a time of 9.402 seconds, placing him 10th overall.
This achievement surpassed the previous national record of 9.523 seconds that Azizulhasni set during the 2023 Asian Cycling Championships.
In addition to Azizulhasni’s success, Shah Firdaus Sahrom finished 22nd overall with a time of 9.635 seconds.
AFP previously reported that Azizulhasni said he wanted to complete the medal haul at the prestigious Games, having previously won silver and bronze in the keirin event at the Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016 Games, respectively.
The popular keirin speedster had heart surgery in 2022, but that has not stopped him from pursuing his dream of Olympic gold.
In the second round, Azizulhasni defeated Germany’s Luca Spiegel with a time of 9.885 seconds, securing a spot in the 1/16 round scheduled for 11.30pm.
However, Shah Firdaus was eliminated after finishing just 0.043 seconds behind Lithuania’s Vasilijus Lende in the 1/32 repechage round.
Only the winners of the repechage round will advance to the 1/16 round.
Shah Firdaus was forced into repechage after losing to Mikhail Yakovlev by 0.569 seconds, with Yakovlev recording a time of 9.779 seconds.
Meanwhile, women’s track cyclist Nurul Izzah Asri failed to advance to the quarterfinals of the keirin event after crashing out in the repechage round.
Nurul Izzah finished third behind Canadian rider Kelsey Mitchell and Great Britain’s Katy Marchant, who finished first and second respectively.
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