Pocket Rocketman wins Malaysia's maiden gold medal At World Championships

National track cycling ace, Mohd Azizulhasni Awang put up a blistering ride en route to securing Malaysia's first ever gold medal at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong, today.

The 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist better known as "The Pocket Rocketman", however, faced a nail-biting competition against five other riders before crossing the finishing line to claim the gold in the race held at the Hong Kong Velodrome Park.

Colombian rider, Fabian Hernando Puerta Zapata won the silver while Tomas Babek of Czech Republic had to settle for bronze medal, according to the tournament website;www.trackworldchamp.hk.

For the record, Mohd Azizulhasni only managed to secure a silver medal in 2010 in Denmark besides winning the bronze medal, twice -- 2015 in France and 2016 in United Kingdom in keirin events.

The Terengganu-born rider had also won the silver in the sprint event back in 2009 in Poland.

Earlier, another Malaysian rider, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom who qualified for the world meet for the first time, failed to advance into the second round after finishing in second place in the first repechage race behind German rider, Joachim Eilers.

Mohd Azizulhasni and Muhammad Shah Firdaus will shift their focus on the individual sprint event on Saturday. -- Bernama