Shanghai worlds: Azizulhasni denied quarter-final spot in tight sprint battle

KUALA LUMPUR - Azizulhasni Awang's pursuit of a spot in the quarter-finals during the Shanghai World Championships came to an abrupt halt as he narrowly missed out in a sprint race against Harry Ledingham-Horn from Great Britain. The 38-year-old racer, unable to secure the quarter-final berth, exited the competition following their heated second round encounter at the Shanghai Velodrome.

Unlike other competitions, the Shanghai World Championships does not provide a repechage route to the quarter-finals. Ledingham-Horn, who topped the qualifying round with a time of 9.285 seconds, will now face Australia's Leigh Hoffman in the quarter-finals, with Hoffman having set the fastest qualifying time at 9.285 seconds.

Azizulhasni had earlier made waves in the competition, defeating Colombia's Cristian Ortega in the opening round. He had clocked a commendable time of 9.564 seconds, placing him eighth in the qualifying round, not far from his personal best of 9.402 seconds. Despite his age, the former world keirin champion had showcased his prowess in the world of cycling this year, securing two keirin gold and two sprint bronze medals in the UCI World Cup series, as well as winning the keirin gold at both the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the beginning of the month.

Tomorrow's final day of the world championships will see Izzah Izzati Asri and Nur Alyssa Farid competing in the women's keirin event, marking the conclusion of a hectic season for Azizulhasni.