Cyclist Azizulhasni bags silver at Tokyo 2020

National track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang has won the silver medal for the men's keirin at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Azizulhasni clinched Malaysia's second medal this Olympics after the Badminton pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik won bronze.

Jason Kenny of Great Britain won the gold medal at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka today.

This is the fourth straight Olympic outing for Azizulhasni since the 2008 Beijing edition.

Nicknamed the Pocket Rocketman, he failed to qualify for the keirin final in Beijing, finished sixth at the 2012 London Games before winning his first Olympic medal - a bronze - at the 2016 Rio edition.

He was among several Malaysian athletes who had been earmarked to win a gold in Tokyo.

Kenny's victory extends Great Britain's domination of the men's keirin, having won gold in every edition since the 2008 Beijing Games.

The Melbourne-based Azizulhasni had earlier started the day with a top-two finish in Heat Three of the quarter-finals before going on to win Heat Two of the semi-finals.

Although he failed to deliver the coveted gold despite a superb performance in the final, the 33-year-old is still the most decorated national track cyclist and the only Malaysian to have won Olympic medals in keirin.

Meanwhile, Kenny, the keirin and sprint champion at the 2016 Rio Games, now has seven Olympic gold medals under his belt - breaking the six-gold record he shared with Great Britain track cycling legend Chris Hoy.

Kenny, 33, also helped Great Britain win silver in the men's team sprint alongside Ryan Owens and Jack Carlin, who clinched a bronze in the men's sprint.

Earlier, Malaysia's Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom missed out on the semi-finals after finishing last in Heat Two of the quarter-finals.

The 25-year-old had on Saturday (Aug 7) suffered injuries after being involved in a collision with Carlin in Heat Two of the first round that saw him being rushed to the Juntendo University Shizuoka Hospital for further treatment.

- Bernama