Azizulhasni cruises into Asian Games sprint semi-finals

Nagoya, Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games - Malaysia's track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang has advanced to the semi-finals of the men's individual sprint event.

The sprinter, who was the third-fastest in qualifying, secured a 2-0 win over Japan's Kanata Takahashi in the quarter-finals at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka. Fellow competitors Kaiya Ota and Li Zhiwei also ensured their places in the final four with straightforward victories over Kirill Kurdidi and Kang Shih Feng.

China's Xie Han and Thailand's Jai Angsuthasawit are currently tied 1-1 and will compete in a deciding race before the semi-final lineup is finalized. The semi-finals and final are scheduled to take place later today.

In the women's individual sprint qualifying round, Nur Alyssa Farid and Izzah Izzati Asri placed fourth and sixth, respectively. Yuan Liying from China topped the timesheets with a time of 10.155 seconds, while Japan's Mina Sato and China's Jiang Yulu were second and third fastest with 10.209s and 10.352s, respectively.

Izzah Farid will face South Korea's Kim Haeun in the first round, while Nur Alyssa Farid will race against Taiwan's Chen Ching Yun. Malaysia has already secured two medals in women's track cycling so far, including a silver in the women's team sprint event and a gold in keirin.