12/02/2025

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | FEB 12, 2025

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Haikal sets sights on All England debut THE saying “hope springs eternal” aptly describes national men’s doubles shuttler Muhammad Haikal Nazri. He said this was because, based on the examination carried out by the National Sports Institute on Friday (Feb 7), his recovery level has reached 80%.

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH FA CUP (4th round) : Doncaster 0 Crystal Palace 2 (Munoz 31, Devenny 55) . SERIE A: Inter Milan 2 (Pongracic 28 og, Arnautovic 52) Fiorentina 1 (Mandragora 44-pen) . TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Napoli 24 17 4 3 39 17 55 Inter Milan 24 16 6 2 58 23 54 Atalanta 24 15 5 4 54 26 50 Lazio 24 14 3 7 45 32 45 Juventus 24 10 13 1 41 21 43 Fiorentina 24 12 6 6 41 25 42

resulted in him and Hon Jian having to shelve their hopes of competing in last month’s Malaysia Open for the first time. Muhammad Haikal, who resumed court training today, said he is working more on covering the front court and not making too many jumping smashes to avoid aggravating the injury. The Kelantan-born shuttler also described training under new national men’s doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi as an eye opener, with the Indonesian introducing a new method of getting them to hit with a heavier racquet to increase their wrist strength. “For me, it (training with Herry) is okay and good… like making sure we don’t lift (the shuttle) high all the time and, at the same time, making sure we use a heavier racquet. For me, that’s good as I lack power,” he said. – Bernama

Still recovering from a torn right hip muscle, the 22-year-old is quietly confident that he and his partner, Choong Hon Jian, can kickstart their 2025 season at the March 11-16 All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham. Muhammad Haikal, who has been sidelined for the past month due to the injury, was quick to admit that while he has no chance of competing in the German Open (Feb 25-March 2), it is still touch-and-go for the Orleans Masters in France (March 4-9).

“I informed my coach yesterday that I won’t be able to go for the German Open but I will wait and see if I can play in the Orleans Masters or the All England. “Of course, I would love to play in the All England as I have never competed in the world’s oldest badminton tournament. Hopefully, I can recover in time,” he told reporters after a training session yesterday. The injury sustained by Muhammad Haikal

No quick fix Tweaking Aaron-Wooi Yik’s playing style will take time, says coach Herry

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N EW national men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi has a plan to tweak Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s playing style to take their game up a notch ahead of the 2025 All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham from March 11-16. However, the Indonesian coach admitted that it won’t be a quick fix. “They will definitely need time. We have to take it slowly and hope to see a change in their playing style at the All England,” he told reporters after a training session yesterday. The coach, better known as Herry IP, is trying to get Aaron and Wooi Yik to be more aggressive and adapt to a new trend in doubles action by focusing on the drive (a quick, flat and powerful counter-attacking shot that can be either a backhanded or forehanded shot). He also described the national men’s doubles pair had shown good progress since he officially took charge at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara on Feb 1. “Looking at the way they used to play, they are used to lifting the shuttle high but that’s not a method I subscribe to. So, I have to force them (not to do so) and in the past week, they have shown good progress,” said Herry, who is nicknamed the “Fire Dragon”. The coach was also quick to admit that the is still a wide gap between 2024 World Junior Badminton Championships (WJC) boys’

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RM11,326,869.48

National men’s doubles Soh Wooi Yik (left) and Aaron Chia. – BERNAMA FILEPIC

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doubles champions Kang Khai Xing-Aaron Tai and the senior pairs at the ABM. However, Herry is optimistic that the youngsters can close the gap by constantly training with the seniors and he also hopes that Khai Xing-Aaron can qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. “They are smart and have potential. So, we must protect them… don’t let them get injured,” he said. Herry, who has been given a four-year contract by the Badminton Association of

Malaysia (BAM), is a high-profile coach renowned for his “Midas” touch in forging world-class Indonesian pairs. He has been credited with producing top pairs who have gone on to become Olympic champions, like Candra Wijaya-Tony Gunawan (Sydney 2000) and Hendra Setiawan-Markis Kido (Beijing 2008). This is the first time that the 62-year-old coach has taken his expertise abroad, having spent 31 years with the Indonesian badminton squad. – Bernama

RM160,035.48

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Wai Ching secures MBPJ funding PETALING Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has continued its

Thailand among 15 countries confirmed for 2025 Asia Cup

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tors in conjunction with Visit Selangor Year 2025,” he told a press conference at the MBPJ Headquarters on Monday. Wai Ching said he was happy when MBPJ became the first local authority to support tower running in the country. He said that apart from bringing accolades to Malaysia and elevating MBPJ in the eyes of the world, he also plans to continue the commu nity outreach to find new talents in the sport, which is increasingly gaining attention. “I will also hold sharing sessions in schools around Petaling Jaya and colleges to promote tower running. “Tower running sessions and workshops will be held on every Saturday from 5.30pm to 7pm if there is no competition. We want more enthusiasts to join this because we want to create new talent and ensure Malaysia’s world dominance in tower running,” he said. – Bernama

FIFTEEN countries, including world champions Thailand, have confirmed their participation in the 2025 Asia Cup Sepaktakraw Championships at the Titiwangsa Stadium in May. Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia (PSM) president Datuk Mohd Sumali Reduan said the other countries confirmed for the inaugural edition of the Asia Cup are Malaysia, India, Singapore, Brunei, Iraq, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Pakistan and the Philippines. “Yesterday, we held a meeting on the 2025 Asia Cup with several Astaf (Asian Sepaktakraw Federation) executive council members to decide on certain matters, including team participa tion. “We finalised the 15 teams and, as everyone knows, the Asia Cup will

have four events - regu (manda tory), doubles, quadrant and team. “We have nine teams competing in the quadrant event, seven in doubles and eight in the team event,”he told a media conference yesterday. Mohd Sumali said PSM had also proposed to Astaf and Istaf (International Sepaktakraw Federation) regarding the ‘chal lenge’ system in international tour naments, where each team is allowed two challenges per match. The current system is such that teams will lose their challenge even if the referee’s decision is proven incorrect, unlike in bad minton, where challenges are retained in such cases. “I’m proposing that a team will have two challenges remaining if a referee’s decision is proven incor rect,”he said. – Bernama

collaboration with world-famed tower runner Soh Wai Ching to help his unique career as well as to promote the city PJ to the world community. Through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed today, MBPJ has provided a sponsorship of RM75,000 to Wai Ching in his mission to regain his world No. 1 ranking this year. Petaling Jaya Mayor Mohamad Zahri Samingon hopes the spon sorship will help Wai Ching achieve victories and bring glory to Malaysia, especially to Petaling Jaya on the world stage. “The purpose of the MoU is to promote Petaling Jaya as a smart, sustainable and resilient city. “It also aims to make Petaling Jaya a tourist destination for visitors from all over the world, providing attractive tourist locations, a variety of food and other facilities to visi

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