Dato' Muhammad Azizulhasni bin Awang (born 5 January 1988) is a

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

professional track cyclist. Nicknamed "The Pocket Rocketman" due to his small stature, he is the first and the only Malaysian cyclist to win a medal at the Summer Olympics. Azizulhasni was Team Malaysia's national

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

at the

2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations 2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations was part of the opening ceremony that originating with the 1896 Olympic Games. The national team from each nation participating in the Olympic Games paraded behind their national flag into the Olympic Stadi ...

. He won his first World Championship medal in 2009, a silver in the individual sprint. His debut Olympic medal came at the 2016 Summer Olympics, a bronze in the individual keirin. In the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

, he won a silver medal in the same category of individual keirin. In 2017, he won his first World Championship title in the keirin, and became the first Malaysian to ever wear the coveted rainbow jersey.

Early life and education

Azizulhasni was born in

Dungun Dungun is a coastal district of the Malaysian state of Terengganu. Kuala Dungun is the capital of the district. Dungun is made up of eleven 'mukim', or subdistricts: Abang, Besol, Jengai, Jerangau, Kuala Dungun, Kuala Paka, Kumpal, Pasir Raja, Ras ...

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith" ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

to his biological parent Awang Embong and Rokiah Husin. He is the eighth of nine children in his family and was adopted by Mustafa Ngah and Selamiah Yong. Azizul took up cycling at 10 years old before he was discovered by his first coach Rozimi Omar who had advised him to stop skateboarding and focus on cycling. He was thankful to his late father for giving him a bicycle as a reward after he obtained 4A 1B in his

UPSR Primary School Achievement Test, also known as Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (commonly abbreviated as UPSR; Malay), was a national examination taken by all students in Malaysia at the end of their sixth year in primary school before they leav ...

. Azizul received his primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu 48 and continued his secondary studies at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Omar in Dungun. After his PMR examination, he received three offers from

MRSM The MARA Junior Science College (MJSC) ( ms, Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM)) is a group of boarding schools created by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), a Malaysian government agency. The institution provides learning facilities for bright stude ...

, Science School and the

Bukit Jalil Sports School The Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) ( ms, Sekolah Sukan Bukit Jalil, SSBJ) is the first sports school in Malaysia. The school is located at the National Sports Complex compound in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. Sekolah Sukan Bukit Jalil was ope ...

. Ultimately chose to transfer to national sport school in

Bukit Jalil Bukit Jalil is an affluent suburb in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is bounded by the National Sports Complex on the east, the Shah Alam Expressway on the north, city boundaries to the west, and the Puchong–Sungai Besi Highway as well as city bou ...

as his interest in cycling and also due to his ambition to be a physician or an athlete at that time. Azizul is majoring in sports science (Bachelor of Sport Movement) at Victoria University in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. In 2015, he became the first non-Australian athlete to receive a Blue Award from Victoria University.

Career

Azizulhasni's greatest achievement is winning the gold medal in

2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championships for track cycling in 2017. They took place in Hong Kong in the Hong Kong Velodrome from 12 to 16 April 2017. The last time the championships took place in Asia was at th ...

and silver medal in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in keirin. Among his other achievements 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. He was named Malaysian Sportsman of the Year in 2009 and 2010.Azizulhasni Awang
nbcolympics.com In February 2011, Azizul was involved in a crash during the final of the keirin event in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

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. At the

2017 Southeast Asian Games Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

Azizul was the 111th gold medal winner, achieving Malaysia's gold medal goal after emerging champion in the men's sprint category at the National Velodrome in

Nilai Nilai is a town located in Seremban District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, close to the border with Selangor. It is the northern suburb within the Seremban metropolitan area. Due to its proximity to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, it ...

. Azizul was also the flag-bearer for Malaysia at the

alongside diver Cheong Jun Hoong and silat exponent Mohd Al-Jufferi Jamari.

Personal life

Dato' Azizul married To' Puan Athiah Ilyana Abd Samat on 30 January 2010. The couple lives in Melbourne with their two daughters.

Achievements

; Track Cycling World Ranking * 2008/09 – 1st Keirin * 2010/11 – 1st Keirin ;

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

* 2009 –

Sprint * 2010 – silver medal blank

Keirin * 2015 – bronze medal blank

Keirin *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

–

Keirin *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

–

Keirin *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

–

Keirin *

–

Sprint ; Asian Games * 2010 – gold medal blank

Keirin *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

–

Sprint *

–

Team sprint *

–

Keirin ;

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

* 2010 –

Team sprint (with Josiah Ng and Mohd Rizal Tisin) *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

–

Keirin ;

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

–

Keirin *

–

Keirin

Awards and achievements

*Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM)-100Plus Best Athlete Award: 2009, 2017

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : **

Officer of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace ...

(KMN) (2017) ** Member of the

(AMN) (2016) * : ** MY-TER Order of the Crown of Terengganu - Dato Paduka - DPMT

Knight Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Terengganu The Most Distinguished Order of the Crown of Terengganu (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Terengganu Yang Amat Mulia'') is an honorific order of the Sultanate of Terengganu. History It was founded by Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin of Tereng ...

(DPMT) – Dato' (2021)

References

External links