KUALA LUMPUR: A tactical mistake cost national track cycling icon Azizulhasni Awang a place in the semi-finals of the Shanghai World Championships on Thursday.
Outgoing national team technical director John Beasley said Azizulhasni had the speed and power to progress but was left disappointed after finishing sixth in quarter-final Heat 3 at the Shanghai Velodrome.
"Just a tactical mistake, those happen from time to time. He has had a stellar year and we wanted the keirin at the Worlds, though this year it did not happen. It is a shame because the speed and power is all there," said Beasley.
Azizulhasni had been hoping to cap a successful season with another World Championships medal after winning two World Cup events, the overall World Cup title and gold at both the Commonwealth and Asian Games this year.
Beasley said the Malaysian was disappointed to have missed the opportunity but still had another race to look forward to.
"Never mind, there is another race in a couple of days," he said.
Azizulhasni will compete in the men's individual sprint on Saturday, with Beasley targeting a top-eight finish to boost the rider's Olympic qualification campaign.
"It can be slim, though you never know with Azizul. He has been on the podium a few times. My target is top eight as that will really kick-start the Olympic points qualification," said Beasley.
Meanwhile, Nur Alyssa Farid and Izzah Izzati Asri both exited the women's individual sprint in the first round.
Nur Alyssa lost to Britain's Rhianna Parris-Smith after clocking 10.788 seconds in the qualifying rounds to rank 23rd, improving on her previous personal best of 10.882s set at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Izzah, who qualified 17th in 10.667s, lost to Australia's Molly McGill. Her time was outside her personal best and Malaysian national record of 10.578s, set at the 2025 UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup in Konya, Turkiye.
Both Nur Alyssa and Izzah will compete in the women's keirin on Saturday as they look to bounce back from their sprint exits.
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