KUALA LUMPUR: Inspired by legendary track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang, national sailor Khairulnizam Afendy is determined to make his fifth Olympic appearance at the 2028 Los Angeles games.
A career-threatening spine injury, which left him struggling to walk, saw Khairulnizam going under the surgeon’s knife in January.
He has made positive strides since making his comeback recently, which includes winning an ILCA 7 (formerly known as laser standard) bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games last month.
Khairulnizam, who suffered from three herniated discs, said his condition has improved since the operation though is not quite pain-free.
“One of the discs (L5 S1) was compressing my nerve and I almost could not walk at the time, so I had to go for arthroscopic surgery (microdiscectomy) to trim that disc as soon as possible,” said Khairulnizam.
“My condition has improved since then but I still have two more bad discs which I have to manage carefully.
“These kinds of injuries are pretty common in sailing due to the nature of the sport as well as the heavy work we do in the gym.
“I took a six-month break after the operation and only had about two or three months to prepare for the Asian Games so I was very grateful to win a medal.”
The injury setbacks have not diminished his desire to compete in a fifth Olympics. He has not missed an edition since making his debut at London 2012.
Khairulnizam, 33, said Azizulhasni’s decision to continue racing until LA 2028 has fired him up.
“Datuk Azizulhasni has also come back for LA 2028. I consider him my idol as I am younger than him,” he said.
“If he can do it, then why can’t I? We should accept the challenge and try to emulate the immense fighting spirit he has.
“I also want to compete at LA 2028 and do better than I did before. I believe my chances of qualifying are positive.”
Azizulhasni, a two-time Olympic medallist, is no stranger to adversity himself. In early 2022, he underwent open-heart surgery to correct a coronary artery anomaly he suffered from since birth.
Despite his advancing years, the 38-year-old has enjoyed the strongest season of his career this year.
He emerged the overall keirin champion in the UCI World Cup series and won the keirin gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games as well as keirin gold and individual sprint bronze at the Asian Games.
Khairulnizam’s next major assignment will be the world championships in Fortaleza, Brazil (Jan 15-23) which will also serve as an Olympic qualifier.
Finishing in the top-16 will earn him an automatic berth at LA 2028.