KUALA LUMPUR: As many Malaysian fans questioned the controversial decision to disqualify cycling star Azizulhasni Awang from the Paris Olympics yesterday, it has emerged that the officials are playing by the rules.
The precedents of the 2016 Rio Olympics, cited by fans, no longer apply to the Paris Games.
At the Rio Olympics, the keirin race had to be restarted three times due to several riders passing the derny (motorcycle pacer) before it left the track.
In Paris, Azizulhasni was disqualified in the keirin first round after his bicycle was said to have gone ahead of the derny.
Though Azizulhasni, who won a silver in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, appealed against his disqualification, it was rejected.
The Pocket Rocketman was not even allowed to compete in the repechage, after the disaster, which would have given him a second chance to continue competing.
Azizulhasni was left in shock over the heartbreaking turn of events as his dream of winning Malaysia's first ever Olympic gold was left in tatters.
National coach John Beasley has come out to explain that the rules have been changed, and there are no more Rio-like restarts.
"They changed the rules after Rio 2016 where you had three false starts. The old rules state that you weren't allowed to pass the back mudguard of the derny, so it was really technical.
"But the new rules state that you are not allowed to pass the front of the derny, so they give you the whole motorbike to play with.
"But we (Azizulhasni) passed the derny by a bike length, so it wasn't just a small margin, it was significant," Beasley said in Paris.
In a social media post, Azizulhasni said the incident was unintentional as the derny was moving slower than it should, and that he was protecting himself from French rider Rayan Helal's aggressive tactics.