10/05/2026

FOLLOW

ON INSTAGRAM

theSun on Sunday MAY 10, 2026

SPORTS 15

Malaysian Paper

@thesundaily @t

Slow progress Wei Chong still doubtful for Malaysia Masters, Singapore Open

ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP (Promotion playoffs semifinals) : Hull City 0 Millwall 0. RESULTS & STANDINGS LA LIGA: Levante 3 (Garcia 35, 37, Etta Eyong 90) Osasuna 2 (Toljan 3-og, Budi mir 11) . P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 34 29 1 4 89 31 88 Real Madrid 34 24 5 5 70 31 77 Villarreal 34 21 5 8 64 39 68 Atleti 34 19 6 9 58 37 63 Real Betis 34 13 14 7 52 41 53 Celta Vigo 34 12 11 11 48 44 47 Getafe 34 13 5 16 28 36 44 Athletic Bilbao 34 13 5 16 40 50 44 Real Sociedad 34 11 10 13 52 53 43 Osasuna 35 11 9 15 42 45 42 Rayo Vallecano 34 10 12 12 35 41 42 Valencia 34 10 9 15 37 50 39 Espanyol 34 10 9 15 37 51 39 Elche 34 9 11 14 45 53 38 Mallorca 34 10 8 16 42 51 38 Girona 34 9 11 14 36 51 38 Sevilla 34 10 7 17 41 55 37 Levante 35 9 9 17 41 57 36 Alaves 34 9 9 16 40 53 36 Real Oviedo 34 6 10 18 26 54 28 SERIE A: Torino 2 (Simeone 66, Pedersen 70) Sassuolo 1 (Thorstvedt 51) . P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 35 26 4 5 82 31 82 Napoli 35 21 7 7 52 33 70 AC Milan 35 19 10 6 48 29 67 Juventus 35 18 11 6 58 30 65 Roma 35 20 4 11 52 29 64 Como 35 17 11 7 59 28 62 Atalanta 35 14 13 8 47 32 55 Lazio 35 13 12 10 39 34 51 Bologna 35 14 7 14 42 41 49 Sassuolo 36 14 7 15 44 46 49 Udinese 35 13 8 14 43 46 47 Torino 36 12 8 16 41 59 44 Parma 35 10 12 13 25 42 42 Genoa 35 10 10 15 40 48 40 Cagliari 35 9 10 16 36 49 37 Fiorentina 35 8 13 14 38 49 37 Lecce 35 8 8 19 24 47 32 Cremonese 35 6 10 19 27 53 28 Verona 35 3 11 21 24 57 20 Pisa 35 2 12 21 25 63 18 BUNDESLIGA: Dortmund 3 (Guirassy 42, Schlotterbeck 45+1, Inacio 72) Frank furt 2 (Uzun 2, Burkardt 87) . TOP 12 P W D L F A Pts Bayern 32 26 5 1 116 35 83 Dortmund 33 21 7 5 68 34 70 RB Leipzig 32 19 5 8 63 42 62 Leverkusen 32 17 7 8 66 43 58 Stuttgart 32 17 7 8 66 46 58 Hoffenheim 32 17 7 8 64 48 58 Freiburg 32 12 8 12 45 53 44 E. Frankfurt 33 11 10 12 59 63 43 Augsburg 32 11 7 14 42 56 40 Mainz 32 9 10 13 41 50 37 B.M’gladbach 32 8 11 13 37 50 35 Hamburg 32 8 10 14 36 51 34 LIGUE 1: Lens 1 (Soares 79) Nantes 0. P W D L F A Pts Paris SG 31 22 4 5 70 27 70 Lens 32 21 4 7 62 33 67 Lyon 32 18 6 8 52 34 60 Lille 32 17 7 8 51 35 58 Rennes 32 16 8 8 56 46 56 Monaco 32 16 6 10 56 48 54 Marseille 32 16 5 11 59 44 53 Strasbourg 31 13 7 11 50 41 46 Lorient 32 10 12 10 44 49 42 Toulouse 32 11 8 13 45 45 41 Paris FC 32 10 11 11 44 47 41 Brest 31 10 8 13 41 51 38 Angers 32 9 7 16 27 46 34 Le Havre 32 6 14 12 30 43 32 Nice 32 7 10 15 36 58 31 Auxerre 32 6 10 16 30 43 28 Nantes 33 5 8 20 29 52 23 Metz 32 3 7 22 32 72 16

NATIONAL men’s doubles shuttler Man Wei Chong remains doubtful for the 2026 Malaysia Masters from May 19 to 24 as he continues recovering from a knee injury. National doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky said a decision on whether Wei Chong will compete can only be made based on the player’s recovery progress. He said the situation has also cast doubt over Wei Chong’s participation in the 2026 Singapore Open from May 26 to 31. “We have to monitor the progress of his recovery this week and next week to deter mine whether he is fit to play in the Malaysia Masters or not. “Even the Singapore Open remains uncertain. If he has not fully recovered by the Malaysia Masters, we may also skip the Singapore Open,” he told reporters recently. Rexy acknowledged that injuries are very common risk in competitive sports, but believes players need full confidence from the coaching team and medical offi cers before returning to compete at their best level.

He said monitoring injuries has been fully entrusted to the team’s doctors and physiotherapists before a final decision on the player’s status is made ahead of the tournament. Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun won the Malaysia Masters title last year after defeat ing fellow Malaysians and 2022 world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the final. Rexy hopes the national men’s doubles pairs will once again deliver a commend able performance on home ground through both the senior and back-up pairs set to

compete in the tournament. As for mixed doubles, he said expecta tions will naturally be on the country’s top pair, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, while he is also keen to see the potential of the new pairing of Jimmy Wong-Cheng Su Yin. “We hope at least last year’s achieve ment can be repeated, like the men’s dou bles having an all-Malaysian final. “We should not depend solely on key players because I also want to see the capabilities of other players when compet ing in major tournaments. “So far, many have only managed to reach the second round or quarterfinals. “Therefore, playing on home ground should serve as motivation for them to show that they are not only good in train ing but also in competition,” he said. – Bernama

‘Key players’ absence reason for loss’

TERENGGANU FC (TFC) interim head coach Tengku Hazman Raja Hassan blamed the absence of two key players for his team’s 3-1 loss to Imigresen FC (IFC) in Friday night’s Super League match at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Nerus. The Kelantan-born coach said that the absence of Gervane Kastaneer, who is injured, and Ehson Panjshanbe, suspended following a dispute with the referee in the recent match against Kuching City FC, dis rupted their game plan. Although TFC took an early lead with a goal in the sixth minute, Hazman said his players lost focus too eas ily, conceding three soft goals in the 18th, 31st and 47th minutes. “This has been a recurring issue over several matches. When we score, we lose the ball and lose concentration. Tonight, I already expected problems because we were without Kastaneer and Ehson, our playmaker and our midfield anchor. “After the second goal, which came from a penalty, I saw my players lose their way com pletely... then came the third. In the second half, we fought back and looked more positive, but another prob lem is we failed to convert our chances and kept making unnecessary mistakes,” he said after last night’s match. Tengku Hazman admitted he was disappointed with the loss, which leaves TFC at risk of finishing the Super League season in sixth place, meaning they will fail to meet the key performance indicators (KPIs) set by the club’s management. – Bernama

365/26

09/05/2026

4965 2753 7281

3376 2984 8714 2891 8369

1243 7652 8714 4769 9863

7467 3669 1047 7697 7302

1047 0100 8938 4964 1230

RM8,650,228.59

Terengganu’s Azam Azmi (right) challenges Imigresen’s Wilmar Jordan Gil during the Malaysia Super League match at Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium on Friday. – BERNAMAPIC

4965 + 7281 2753 + 7281 7281 + 2753

4965 + 2753 2753 + 4965 7281 + 4965

RM165,732.55

Rooney simply the best, says Gerrard

midfield general Xabi Alonso and winger Steve McManaman, despite only sharing the changing room briefly with the latter. Both players left Liverpool for Real Madrid at differ ent stages of Gerrard’s career. Gerrard was in Malaysia to promote the AllStar Legends match, which is scheduled to take place on Oct 3 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. While his participation has yet to be officially confirmed, Gerrard said he hopes to feature in the AllStar Premier Legends team, which will comprise former English Premier League stars taking on their global counter parts later this year. So far, six players have been confirmed for the October fixture, including former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam, ex Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen, and former Leeds United left-back Ian Harte. On the opposing side, the AllStar World Legends squad will feature several South American and European greats. Among those confirmed are Brazilian goalkeeper Dida and compatriot Maicon, both of whom enjoyed notable careers in Serie A with AC Milan and Inter Milan respectively. Argentinian forward Javier Saviola, who previously played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, is also set to be part of the World Legends lineup. More names are expected to be announced as the match draws closer.

BY ZUJ AHSAN sportsdesk@thesundaily.com

FORMER England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has named Wayne Rooney as the best England player he ever played alongside. Without hesitation, Gerrard singled out Rooney as the standout performer from his international career. “From an England point of view, I always say Wayne Rooney is the best, Gerrard said during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Gerrard was responding to a question on his top five teammates. Gerrard and Rooney were a mainstay for the England national team in the 2000s and featured together across several major tournaments. He also listed several other high-profile England and Premier League stars, including Rooney’s Manchester United teammates and Chelsea stalwarts. “(There were) Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard in midfield. There were also a few good defenders – John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. These are all world-class play ers in their own right,” he added. He also named five players he regarded as his best teammates at Liverpool, unsurpris ingly including three prolific strikers – Luis Suarez, Fernando Torres and Robbie Fowler – among his selections. The other two Liverpool stars anmed were

7 16232728303132

9 29

RM10,102,774.22

RM287,291.17

6 5 5 3 8 1 65538

55381

6553

5381

655

381

65

81

53

09

All jackpot amounts stated above are for this Draw. Subject to T&Cs of the Scheme. Please visit to www.magnum4d.my for more info. THE BIGGER PLAY IS TO PLAY RESPONSIBLY

CHAMPIONS

RELEGATED