Azizulhasni nears national record in qualifying, draws Beckham in first round

NAGOYA - Former world keirin champion Azizulhasni Awang secured third-fastest time in the men's individual sprint qualifying round at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Azizulhasni, known as "The Pocket Rocketman," clocked 9.467 seconds, just under a tenth of a second from his national record of 9.402 seconds set during the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Japan's Kaiya Ota, the favorite for the event, topped the morning timesheets with a time of 9.400 seconds, which is very close to his Asian record of 9.348 seconds, set at Tagaytay ACC 2026. China's Li Zhiwei finished second with a time of 9.444 seconds.

Azizulhasni's teammate Shah Firdaus Sahrom qualified ninth with a time of 9.850 seconds, which is in line with expectations. The 31-year-old, who is still dealing with scar tissue on his right knee from an operation last year, will face India's David Beckham Elkatohchoongo, who qualified 14th with a time of 9.996 seconds. Shah Firdaus will have a challenging match against Taiwan's Kang Shih-Feng, who was the eighth-fastest qualifier with a time of 9.810 seconds. Izzah Izzati Asri and Nur Alyssa Farid will also compete in the women's keirin on Wednesday.