Awang needs to increase weight ahead of 2016 Olympic Games

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His result was an improvement, however Malaysian sprint ace Azizulhasni Awang will concentrate on building his strength ahead of what is hoped will be his third Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero in 2016.

On Tuesday, the 24-year-old finished sixth in the keirin final at the London Olympic Games after being swamped on the final bend with Sir Chris Hoy (Great Britain) winning his sixth Olympic Games gold medal. Awang had been forced to race on the front but was eventually boxed in by his more-powerful competitors. In the sprint, Awang finished eighth in the final standings.

Awang finished 10th in the keirin at the Beijing Games and the following year claimed a silver medal in the sprint at the World Championships in Poland. In 2010 Awang also won silver in the keirin at the World Championships in Denmark and the finished the 2010-11 World Cup as keirin champion.

"Azizul did his best and we can't fault him in any way," his Australian coach John Beasley told the New Straits Times. "He rode the final the way he had to after being drawn in the sixth position. Had he been given an inner position, it would have been better and his chances of a medal brighter but he came very close.

"Given his stature, it was always going to be very difficult to chase from the back and that is why Azizul went to the front immediately. However, the experienced field knew what they had to do and in the final sprint, Azizul found himself bunched in and had to attack from the back."

Beasley believes that the key to improvement lies in an increase to his 67 kilogram weight, up to 69kg.

After a short break, Awang will return to his Melbourne training base.

"My immediate targets are the 2014 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games before turning my sights to the 2016 Olympics," he said.