SHIZUOKA, Oct 2 — Track cycling stars Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom continued the nation’s campaign in the men’s keirin event at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games after securing spots in the semi-finals at Izu Velodrome here today.
Both national riders earned automatic qualification after finishing second in their respective heats.
Mohd Azizulhasni finished his heat behind China’s Xie Han, while Shah Firdaus was the second-fastest rider in his heat, which was won by Hong Kong’s To Cheuk Hei.
Japan’s Minato Nakaishi and Kazakhstan’s Kirill Kurdidi also qualified automatically after finishing in the top two of their respective heats.
Riders who failed to qualify automatically still have a chance to continue their campaign through the first repechage round scheduled to take place later.
The men’s keirin semi-finals and finals are scheduled to take place this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid also confirmed her place in the women’s individual sprint semi-finals after defeating host rider Aki Sakai 2-0 in the quarter-finals.
However, Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri who had previously won the keirin bronze failed to follow in Alyssa’s footsteps, losing 0-2 to China’s Jiang Yulu.
Alyssa will face China’s Yuan Liying, the keirin gold medalist, in the semi-finals, while Jiang Yulu is set to face Japan’s Mina Sato in the other semi-final match.
Izzah Izzati will compete in the races to determine the fifth to eighth positions.
