AZIZUL Hasni Awang produced another sensational comeback from two major disappointments in Round One of the UCI World Cup in Manchester when he stormed to the bronze medal in the International Keirin that closed the meet on Sunday.
The 21-year-old had started off the weekend disastrously after being knocked out in the first round of the World Cup keirin and then failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the 200m sprint on Saturday.
The International Keirin, which gathered the world's top 21 keirin riders in a gala event to close the Manchester World Cup round, provided Dungun-born Azizul with the perfect opportunity to bounce back.
And he took it in style, breezing through the first round by winning his opening heat, then made it to the final with ease.
"At least we don't go home empty handed. I'm happy because there were many Malaysian supporters in the stands, including the Sports Minister (Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek), during my race, so they had something to cheer," said Azizul.
"I was disqualified from the keirin in the World Cup round on Friday. I still don't know what the reason was so I was very disappointed," said Azizul, who had gone back to his hotel right after the first round of that keirin, not knowing he was disqualified.
He finished third in the repechage to end his challenge in the keirin unexpectedly early.
"Even more disappointing for me was because of that I had no time to prepare for the repechage. I didn't even warm up.
"I rushed back to the velodrome and got straight on the bike as the event was about to start. I lost because of that."
Azizul said he tried to maintain his concentration although the proceedings had dealt a severe blow to his morale.
"I tried not to be overly stressed at that time. But then another disappointment came along when I failed to make the cut in the 200m sprint. It was just a 0.002s difference between qualifying for the knockout round and being out," said Azizul.
"If not for that, I would have met Chris Hoy in the first round. Just to race him would have been good."
World Championships 200m sprint silver medallist Azizul said he went into this World Cup leg with more emphasis on preparations for the keirin, and was satisfied with the tactical approach that he employed throughout the weekend.
"Thankfully, in the International Keirin, everything ran smoothly and there was no disqualification to ruin my day. Everything ran smoothly and my tactical race was beautiful."
In the scratch race, 18-year-old Adiq Husainie Othman proved his bronze medal in the World Junior Championships in August wasn't a fluke, when he became the first Malaysian to qualify for the World Cup final in that event and finished a creditable 11th.
The season will be a long one for the national squad with not only the World Championships to look at but also the Guangzhou Asian Games and New Delhi Commonwealth Games as their targets next year. -- ARNAZ M. KHAIRUL