Azizulhasni, Josiah Flop In Keirin Challenge

By Tham Choy Lin

BEIJING, Aug 16 (Bernama) – National cyclist Azizulhasni Awang and Josiah Ng made promising starts but ended in a cloud of disappointment after both failed to qualify for the Olympics keirin final at the Laoshan Velodrome Saturday.Azizul, the Asian keirin and sprint champion, finished 10th while Ng was ninth.“I rode my heart out,” said Ng who had finished sixth in Athens. The 28-year-old reckons he still has another two Olympics in him.Azizulhasni had only three rivals in his second round heat but the pint-sized Terengganu rider bungled when he found himself trapped behind the group coming into the last corner. His desperate attempt to cut out was blocked by Edgar Ross of Great Britain, Kiyofumi Nagai of Japan and Carsten Bergemann of Germany, who all qualified into the final from the heat.

Team manager Abu Samah Abdul Wahab said Azizulhasni’s bid was wrecked by a wrong tactic because he did not follow coach John Beasley’s order to stay in front.The heat was depleted after Polish rider Kamil Kuczynski’s bicycle flipped soon after the start and Dutch former world champion Theo Bos went smack into him.

Ng has tough company in current world champion and eventual gold winner Chris Hoy of Great Britain and Australians, Ryan Bayley and Kelly Shane in his second round heat.Bayley, the gold winner for the individual sprit and keirin in Athens, played sacrifical hare for Shane to get upfront and ended up second, sandwiched between Hoy and Frenchman Arnaud Tournant to enter the final. In the first round, Azizulhasni had Shane breathing down on him to the finish line in Heat 2 but the Malaysian held on stubbornly to arrive first.Ng, initially placed third in Heat 3, was moved up to second to advance into the next round after second-placed Italian, Roberto Chiappa was relegated for pushing Nagai. The Japanese came back from the repechage to make it into the second round and he took the bronze behind the 1-2 finish by Great Britain, with Ross Edgar taking the silver.

Of the three events entered by Malaysia, the national cyclists had high hopes of making the keirin six-man final.

Azizulhasni has a final event Sunday. He is the sole Malaysian rider in the 200m sprint.

Friday, he had teamed up with Ng and Rizal Tisin in the team sprint and the trio smashed the national record in finishing seventh fastest in the qualifying round, although they did not make headway after that.

– BERNAMA

Above: Qualifying Round – Heat 3 (recording from Astro Supersports Channel 823).

Are You Confused?

Let me give you a quick rundown on what Keirin is all about, in layman terms, for cycling idiots like me.

Keirin is a form of tactical sprint race that involves twenty-four riders.

• 24 riders broken down into 4 teams (6 riders in one heat – total 4 heats) in Qualifying Round

• First two winners in Qualifying Round automatically enters Round 2 (8 riders in total)

• The other 16 riders are broken down into 4  teams (4-5 riders in total each team) for Repechage

• In this Repechage, there is hope for one rider out of the 4 teams to qualify into Round 2

• 4 riders from Repechage join the other 8 riders in Round 2

• In Round 2, there are now 12 riders who are broken down into 2 teams (Heat 1 and Heat 2)

• 3 riders from Heat 1 & Heat 2 from Round 2 will advance into the Finals (1-6)

• The others go into Finals (7-12) qualification

You may read it again if you don’t understand.

Josiah and Azizul raced a total of 3 rounds – Qualifying, Round 2, Final (7-12).

Here’s what they do on the track:

• Follow behind a motorbike (motor-pacing) for a few rounds to position themselves (yes, it’s a very tactical game!)

• When the motorbike takes off, sprint for another two rounds or so (depends) – see below:

• Keirin races are about 2 kilometers in length (8 laps on a 250m track, 6 laps on a 333m track, and 5 laps on a 400m track).

• Cool down after they reach the finishing line by cycling for a while (as track bicycles do not have brakes!)

Josiah’s Thoughts

I immediately SMS-ed him after the race and this was what he replied:

“(Delete mushy part) Had flash backs of Mallorca. Anyway I really enjoyed racing. (Delete mushy part) and thanks to everyone for supporting me so much. Now at doping control. Talk later k.”

“Someone” took Josiah down last year at the World Championships causing Josiah to crash and BREAK his collarbone. This year, this “someone” did it again to another person and was relegated but lost in the Repechage round, (no, not Kamil or Theo Bos).

My Feelings

I have never felt so nervous before in my entire life, this feeling isn’t even like when I go onstage for some talent competition of some sort. Not even the same feeling when I give presentations. Not the same feeling when I face my clients at work. The bathroom became really useful to me, and this time, I knew what it was really like to have real butterflies in my tummy.

I saw this butterfly and it reminded me of Josiah. This butterfly was trying to cheer me up to get over my nervousness.

I was patiently waiting for him to come on TV. This was 4.20pm.

Then ARGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! “Service currently not available” on Astro because of the heavy downpour! I was so mad at everyone then. I was mad at Astro for the inavailability of service, my advertising company for giving me such workload and not letting me go to Beijing to watch Josiah race, even God. But, that was just a passing thought that I managed to surpress. I thought to myself, “Oh no… I can’t watch Josiah race.”

Above: Beside the motorbike in black Nike swiftsuit

Then, *phew*, I managed to catch him in action after 15 minutes of rain. I didn’t miss out on Keirin. Phew. Thank you Astro for providing live coverage. You made it possible for me to watch Josiah race.

I could see the rage in his eyes – with his nose slightly flared up. So cute!

This is the feeling of an Olympian’s fiancee / wife / partner, etc. I was confused to either wish him safe and not let anyone get his wheels or him getting others’ wheels… Or, was it for him to just win and settle for no less? Or, was it for him to make it to the semi-finals at least? I was truly confused. Plus, it really didn’t help when both events he participated in, had at least one crash (see blog entry below). I was shouting and clasping my hands in Malaysia, as if Josiah could hear me from Beijing.

 

Josiah (right) in Athens 2004 in the final round (1-6) with Michael Bourgain and Rene Wolff on his right.

Close call.

Fortunately, it was quite a neat race this time for Josiah.

Malaysia’s Expectation

I know the next few months is not going to be easy for Josiah although he achieved the position of 9 out of 24 contenders in the world. The media will use the words “FLOP” and “FAIL”. Yes, Malaysia’s track cycling team at world level. Unbelievable huh, now with Azizul together with Josiah plus Rizal and Mohd Edrus (Eddy) in the team sprint. Back in Athens 2004, it was just Josiah. Our track cycling team has expanded. But no, this is really not how Malaysia sees our Malaysian athletes.

The Government’s Contribution

Everyone expects so much from these athletes. From one angle, the government is seen paying these athletes (yes, from your tax and my tax – whatever government tax that may be!). But, please bear in mind that their extensive program did not start many years back. Small steps were taken progressively. For example, hiring a great coach like John Beasley from Australia – only 2 years ago.

What Da H*ll Are Our Athletes Doing?

“1st class infrastructure, 3rd class mentality.” – according to one blog I read earlier. Is this what Malaysia is all about?

I quote BERNAMA News:

Dr Jegathesan  said studies by sports scientists revealed that the social culture of a particular country and the genetic factor had contributed in producing excellent athletes. For example, he said, African countries such as Kenya has produced many world class runners in the marathon and other long-distance events. “This is because they were forced to walk and run to schools, which were located far from their homes, probably more than 10 kilometres from their house. So, their resilience in the long-distance events was developed at a young age,” Dr Jegathesan pointed out. “Have we ever heard of any long-distance runner of Olympic standard from China or Olympic swimmers from Africa?” he asked.

How true. You want to produce more world-class track cyclists? 

1. Clear Malaysia’s congested roads. Promote car-pooling (I strongly promote this because I don’t have a car although I can drive. )
2. Promote more cycling-related competitions like triathlons and etc.
3. Take good care of our Ipoh and Cheras Velodromes.
4. Introduce track cycling in schools.
5. Provide subsidies to the younger generation for track cycling (other than country’s athlete sponsorships)
6. Lessen the number of road accidents, snatch-n-run road thefts so it is safe for people to cycle on roads through promotion of Road Safety. 

Who Cares – Only Podium Matters!

Who cares if the athlete has won a medal before? As long as in the current race, this same athlete MUST win a medal, stand on the podium and watch his flag being raised. But oh no, if he wins a bronze, “XXX FAILS TO BAG SILVER MEDAL”.

Fail fail fail.

Flip flop fail.

Flop flip fail.

Then again, what other words to use if not fail?

I would say:

“Josiah Ng and Azizul Hasni Awang won a spot, 9th and 10th placing respectively in the heated race that involved former champions like Ryan Bayley, Chris Hoy, Theo Bos and Shane Kelly. What a spectacular race!”

And when I say “spectacular”, I really mean it. Well, it’s not like any of us (including you reading this – if you’re not one of them at today’s Keirin riders) could have done better than Josiah and Azizul. Lol.

Josiah, here’s a kiss for you. (censored)

You’ve done our country proud and there is hope for tomorrow. Chris Hoy is 32 years old, four years older than you and he’s at his peak. The best part about your Olympics journey would have to be your supporters. Just look at the number of people supporting you – your family at your race.

Above: Malaysian cyclists Josiah Ng is greeted by his father Andy Ng and mother Janet Ng at the Olympic Athletes Village. His sister Joyalene Ng (left) and brother Johansen Ng look on. – 15 August, 2008 (pic by Kamarul Ariffin @ The Star)

Then, you have:
1. Bloggers pasting your Nike sidebar banner (see banner on the right of this page) onto their blogs, giving you support messages including Malaysia’s most famous blogger – kennysia.com.
2. The media (The Star, Bernama, NST, Harian Metro, Kosmo, Nanyang Siang Pau, etc.) to spur you on and highlight your journey.
3. Your sponsors – FedEx, Nike, Oakley, Giro, Rocket7, Sugino, Euro-Asia Imports, Bio-Racer, Momentum Cycling, Revolution and The Velodrome.
4. Nike – the great people behind your website at www.josiahng.com.
5. Your PR Manager who put you on the front cover of Ezyhealth and Men’s Health and other media.
6. The Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN), Union Cyclist Internationale (UCI), Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNF).
7. Friends – just check out the people who dropped support comments on your blog, Facebook, MSN, Myspace and Friendster!
8. Everyone else.

Everyone believes in you. This is not the end because you have a winner’s spirit. Malaysia is proud of you.

Malaysian media that covered this event:

Joshua Ng and Azizul Hasni Awang Fail to Reach Keirin Final
http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2008/8/17/olympics/22107997&sec=Olympics 
Kim: Typo in the heading, but they spelled Josiah’s name correctly within the post.

Josiah, Azizul Crash Out
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Sport/2323574/Article/index_html
Kim: Not exactly crash-lah! Choi! This post highlights just the Malaysians’ tactics and moves.

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