KUALA LUMPUR: National sprint trio spearheaded by Azizulhasni Awang are hoped to continue to perform excellently to ensure that the target of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games next year through the team sprint event is achieved.
The combination of Azizulhasni together with Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Mohd Fadhil Zonis performed well to snatch bronze at the Asia Track Championships last month.
This particular performance is seen as a display of their true abilities, especially since Fadhil competed while having a fever.
However what is also hoped for is consistency in their performance especially when competing at the World Track Championships in Poland next month.
"The target from early planning is for Malaysia to qualify through the team sprint event. So we cannot afford to make any mistakes in Poland.
"We must be in the best position because there are valuable points on offer just as in Jakarta last month,” said national coach John Beasley.
If they managed to advance through the team sprint event, then the national team will automatically earn tickets for individual events such as Keirin and sprint, which will indirectly increase the chances of winning medals.
Beasley explained that only the top eight countries in terms of Olympic ranking will get such tickets and based on the latest rankings, Malaysia are 12th with 1446 points.
The last time Malaysia qualified for the Olympics through the team sprint event was for the Beijing edition in 2008 through Azizulhasni, Josiah Ng and Rizal Tisin.