Let's pray for Azizulhasni

AP pic

Azizulhasni Awang underwent surgery at the Manchester Royal Infirmary four hours ago to remove a large splinter of wood that had protruded through his left calf.

He got back up after a dramatic crash in the Track World Cup keirin final to stagger across the line. He was promoted to third after Spanish rider Juan Peralta Gascon was disqualified. Azizul was on his way to the hospital when the winners took their place on the podium. Let's hope Azizul recovers quickly from this mishap.



Hoy survives keirin spill
(AFP)
MANCHESTER, England — Sir Chris Hoy survived a spectacular crash in the keirin at the UCI track cycling World Cup meeting in Manchester on Saturday, winning an event which saw Malaysian Azizulhasni Awang cross the line with a seven-inch splinter of wood embedded in his leg.


Awang was one of four riders involved in a high-speed collision which led to Hoy's rivals scrambling to regain their composure and collect their bikes before crossing the line to gain World Cup points.


The Malaysian's heroics actually saw him finish third, enough to pip Hoy to the keirin series title that covers the four meetings that constitute the track World Cup, before he was taken to hospital for the removal of the wood - which passed clean through his lower leg from one side to the other.


But Scotsman Hoy, a triple gold medalist at the Beijing Olympics, proved that, at 34, he is still a dominant force despite a mediocre showing on Friday in which he lost the individual sprint semi-final to young countryman Jason Kenny.


"It was only on the victory lap that I came around and saw the guys lying on the floor," said Hoy. "The crash looked nasty and hopefully the boys will be alright.


"But I'm particularly pleased after yesterday. It was a hard day's racing on Friday, it takes a lot out of you physically and mentally because it is 13 hours from start to finish and not to win it was disappointing.


"But I had to think, that's finished, and move on to today and I really enjoyed it. I had a lot of confidence going into the final and I hit it hard and won by a clear margin."


In contrast, the star of Victoria Pendleton, who is following Hoy in aiming for three gold medals in the 2012 London Olympics, was far less in the ascendancy.


The team sprint and keirin - both absent from the Beijing Olympics for women - have been added to the 2012 Games schedule, meaning Pendleton could compete across exactly the same disciplines as Hoy next summer.


However, on Saturday, in the fourth and final World Cup track meeting of the winter, Pendleton, 30, continued what has, so far, been an unproductive weekend.


On Friday, her new team sprint pairing with BMX specialist Shanaze Reade proved unsuccessful and failed to make the last four and, last night in the individual sprint, she was handily beaten 2-0 by Australian Anna Meares in the semi-finals.


Pendleton got the better of Meares in the Olympic final three years ago but looked distinctly second best on this occasion. Her consolation came in winning the bronze medal race while Meares beat China's Shuang Guo in the final. - AFP