KUALA LUMPUR: After spending several hours reflecting on his "shocking" disqualification from the keirin event at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang finally explained the circumstances behind it.
Azizulhasni, also known as Malaysia's "Pocket Rocketman", who was heavily relied upon to excel and potentially secure Malaysia's first Olympic gold medal, was disqualified after overtaking the derny (pacer) in heat one of the first round.
"Heavy is the head that wears the crown," Azizulhasni wrote in his first social media post following the event.
Azizulhasni revealed that after he and compatriot Shah Firdaus Sahrom were assigned the sixth position in the draw, they devised a strategy with their coach, John Beasley, to win their respective heats.
"This was because there were a few front-runner riders (senko) ahead. If the front riders were to accelerate early, it would put me in a difficult situation to advance at high speed.
"There was a possibility of being blocked during the heat had I employed a wait-and-see tactic.
"So, I had to choose the best strategy to increase my chances of winning, which was to make an early move. It was something I had done during the early rounds at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
"With one lap remaining before the pacer exited, I started to gradually move forward from the back, similar to what I did at the Asian Championships in Kuala Lumpur.
"The plan was to move forward and position myself on the outside of the first or second rider, and after the pacer exited, I would accelerate to take the lead position.
"However, as I passed the third bend and before entering the fourth bend, I was blocked and squeezed by the French rider (Rayan Helal).
"He was too aggressive, and I believe it was intentional as he collided with me, and I nearly fell. I managed to avoid falling due to my quick reflexes and skill.
"As if that wasn't enough, he continued to closely follow and tried to squeeze me again. In such a situation, my reaction was to move forward to avoid him."
The 36-year-old added: "As an elite keirin rider, we know the speed the pacer should be going before exiting.
"Usually, in the last lap, the pacer will accelerate and exit after the fourth bend at a speed of 50-55 km/h. But in my race, the pacer was moving slower than usual and didn't accelerate out after the fourth bend.
"While I was jostling with the French rider, I noticed the pacer hadn't accelerated out, was surprised, and tried to back-pedal, but unfortunately, I couldn't slow down as much as I wanted.
"According to the race rules, the rear wheel of the rider must not overtake the pacer before the pacer exits at the pursuit line, which is the thin line in the middle of the front stretch (not the starting line).
"Did my rear wheel overtake the pacer before the pacer exited? My answer is yes, but it was unintentional and was due to two factors.
"First, the continuous blocking and squeezing by the French rider, and second, because the pacer was moving at only 40-45 km/h and not at the usual speed, and didn't accelerate out as it normally would.
"Coach Beasley and team manager Izham Mohammad immediately approached the commissaires' panel to explain the situation and requested a review of the race video and the decision. However, they chose to stick with the same decision," he said.
Azizulhasni noted that a similar situation had occurred in other races, but the commissaires had only restarted the race and no rider was disqualified.
Azizulhasni also hopes that fans will continue to support and pray for Shah Firdaus on Sunday.
"I believe Shah Firdaus can do it," he said.