COMETH the hour, cometh the man. The question is whether track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang will be that man.
Malaysia head to the Tokyo Games, still looking to win their first ever gold medal since their Olympic debut in 1956.
If Malaysia realise their dream in Tokyo, it will certainly help to lift the spirits of a dejected nation battered by Covid in the past 18 months.
Azizulhasni will aim to live up to the expectations of a nation in the keirin — an event that saw him winning the bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
However, on paper, the keirin gold may look too far a mission for the Pocket Rocketman.
Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen is the out-and-out favourite at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka after sweeping the team sprint, individual sprint and keirin gold at last year's Berlin World Championships.
The 24-year-old spearheads a golden generation of track sprinters for the Netherlands which also includes Jeffrey Hoogland, Roy van den Berg and Matthijs Buchli.
Buchli, the 2018 world keirin champion, will also be a major factor in the fight for the keirin gold.
Besides the Dutch, there are plenty of potential threats elsewhere. These include defending champion Jason Kenny (Great Britain), who won three gold at the 2016 Olympics, German duo Maximilian Levy and Stefan Botticher, Australian Matthew Glaetzer, as well as Japanese duo Yuta Wakimoto and Yudai Nitta.
Azizulhasni, however, is in the form of his life, and if he is to ever win the Olympic gold, this is the time to do it.
The 33-year-old said he has had his best ever preparation to date, and the numbers that he has achieved, back him up.
The Dungun-born rider set a new Asian record in the sprint en route to winning two bronze at the World Championship last year.
Maximum power output achieved in training and subsequently his power-to-weight ratio is also believed to be at a career high though he has kept the specifics a secret.
Azizulhasni is also equipped with a new state of the art bike and skin suit which will give an added edge aerodynamically.
This time he will have the much-improved Shah Firdaus Sahrom, 25, for company in the keirin, and if both riders can reach the final, together they will provide Malaysia a strategic boost in the decider.
Azizulhasni, who lost to Shah in a number of warm-up events earlier this year, has even tipped the latter as a potential gold medallist.
It is possible that Shah could emerge as a dark horse, take the field by surprise and grab a medal.
But for gold, the money is still on the vastly experienced Azizulhasni as a keirin race can be a tricky affair to navigate especially once the final lap bell rings.
The Malaysia National Cycling Federation have not set any targets as they do not want to pressure the duo in Tokyo.
Azizulhasni, however, clearly knows what is expected of him. "The contingent and the country view me as one of the athletes who has a high chance of bringing back a gold medal, so I know (what is expected)," said the 2017 world champion.
"I have achieved almost everything I wanted in this sport. I have won gold in every major championship, and am a 10-time Asian champion.
"The only thing that is left is the Olympic gold, and that is what I want to achieve in my career.
"Of course there is some pressure, but as a professional athlete I have to deal with it. We cannot escape reality."
The diminutive Azizulhasni may lack the physique of his European rivals, but he has something special that cannot be quantified by any metrics - incredible fighting spirit and guile.
The self-proclaimed warrior has said that he races for "my country and my people" and not just himself.