Azizulhasni Awang

Mohd Azizulhasni B. Awang (born 5 January 1988) is a Malaysian professional track cyclist. Azizulhasni, was the winner of gold medals in the keirin and 200 m sprint events at the Asian Cycling Championships in April 2008. He was a flag bearer for Malaysian team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He was the highest placed Asian cyclist at the Olympics, finishing eighth in the keirin. He is among 2012 London Olympics gold medal prospects. In 2009, Azizul became the overall winner of the Keirin event in the 2008–2009 World Cup after obtaining two gold medals. Azizul became the first Malaysian to win a medal at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, when he won silver in the men's sprint event at the 2009 World Championships in Pruszków, Poland. He is referred to as Azizul the pocket rocket due to his small stature.

Background
Azizul Hasni Awang was born in Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia. He is the eighth of nine children in his family. He received his primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu 48 in Dungun, and continued his secondary studies at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Omar in Dungun, before transferring to National Sport School in Bukit Jalil.

Azizul began his career after watching his brother racing. He was coached by the Dungun Cycling Team before entering the Sport School. He was thankful to his late father for giving him a second hand bicycle as a reward after he obtained 7A 1B in his Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR). Azizul received three offers from MRSM, Science School, and Sport School after his PMR. Due to his interest in cycling, he decided to pursue his studies at Sport School. His first ambition was to be a doctor, however, after entering the sport field, Azizul proved to be successful.

Professional career
Among Azizul's greatest achievement is winning the silver medal at the 2009 World Championships in the sprint category and the silver medal at the 2010 World Championships in the keirin category.

In February 2011, Azizul was involved in a crash during the final of the keirin event in the World Cup leg in Manchester where he suffered serious injury when a 20 cm wooden splinter pierced through his leg. He was ruled out of the World Championships that year.

Personal life
Azizul is pursuing his studies at Deakin University, Australia in Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Sport Management. For him, sport and education are the vital elements to be a good sportsman. Discipline and time management are the key to success. Azizul was married with Athiah Ilyana bt Abd Samat on 30 January 2010. Azizul proved to the nation that marriage will not affect his performance. He determined to strike a balance between married life and his commitments with the national track cycling squad.