KUALA LUMPUR, 17 August 2016 – Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD), the philanthropic arm of Sime Darby Berhad, will award national track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang RM100,000 for his bronze medal win at the Rio Olympics 2016.
An elated YSD chairman Tun Musa Hitam announced the reward for the “Pocket Rocket Man”, the darling of Malaysia’s track cycling team, who won the bronze for the keirin event, delivering Malaysia’s first Olympic medal for track cycling.
"We are pleased to announce a RM100,000 reward for Azizul on his historic win. Congratulations Azizul. You did your best and we are very proud of your achievement. Despite the interruptions during the final, you never gave up till the very end. Your performance under the circumstances has made you even more deserving of the win and the whole country rejoices with you.”
“Not forgetting coach John Beasley and the whole team, for the hard work put in, it has paid off and you have made Malaysia proud,” Tun Musa added.
Years of perseverance, sacrifices, sheer grit and determination finally paid off for pint-sized Azizul, who was once told at sports school that he would never make it in track cycling, as he was “too small”.
In 2011, at the keirin final at the Track World Cup in London, Azizul was involved in a crash with another three riders and was skewered with a 20cm splinter of Siberian pine from the track. Not one to give up easily, he recovered, mounted his bicycle and finished third in the race.
Azizul was part of the YSD Track Cycling Team-Road to London Olympics 2012 which was funded by YSD with a sponsorship of RM2 million for three years from 2009 to 2012. Azizul and two others, qualified for the London Olympics 2012 though they did not win any medals then.
YSD continued with an RM2.85 million sponsorship for Azizul and Fatehah Mustapa with the Road to Rio 2016: The Sime Darby Foundation Track Cycling team, to pursue the quest for an Olympic medal for track cycling.
Besides YSD’s sponsorship for track cycling, Azizul is also a recipient of the prestigious YSD ‘Star’ Scholarship with an RM456,000 sponsorship for his degree in Exercise Science and Human Movement studies at the leading sports science university in Australia - Victoria University in Melbourne, where he trains.
Last November, he was honoured with a Full Blue Award for his sporting achievements from the university, making him the first non-Australian to be given such a recognition.
