14/02/2025

FRIDAY | FEB 14, 2025

31

SPORTS

Malaysia crash out Defeat to Indonesia sees shuttlers fail to advance past group stage F OR the first time since the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship (BAMTC) was introduced in 2017, Malaysia failed to advance past the group Marcellyno, 11-21, 22-20, 21-12. However, the national women’s doubles pair of Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing failed to keep Malaysia’s hopes alive as they succumbed 21-18, 7-21, 17-21 to Meilysa Trias Puspitasari-Rachel Allessya Rose, which handed Indonesia the crucial winning point.

RESULTS & STANDINGS

NURTURING the passion and potential of young football talents, Milo, in partnership with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), hosted the Milo x FAM Ultimate Experience 2025, offering aspiring players two days of intensive training and professional mentorship. This exclusive programme brought together 167 young talents, aged 6 to 16, who emerged victorious from the Junior Champions League 2024, a nationwide tournament attracting over 9,000 aspiring players. For the first time, young female footballers competed in the Junior Champions League 2024 and earned their place in the experience. “Milo’s partnership with FAM expands football opportunities nationwide, empowering girls to play while elevating both players and coaches. “This programme fosters a competitive spirit, preparing them for future challenges,” said FAM national women’s football coach Soleen Al-Zou’bi. The participants had an amazing opportunity to attend football masterclass sessions and trainings led by Soleen; physiotherapy officer Shohaili Mansor, head coach of the women’s U-20 team Cameron Ng and other renowned coaches who guided players through advanced techniques and strategies to elevate their game, along with special appearance from our national football stars namely Norshahrul Idlan (Mat Yo), Nur Ainsyah, and Farahiyah Ridzuan. Young athletes also had the chance to explore the state-of-the-art facilities at FAM headquarters, gaining an inspiring insight into the life of professional footballers. The winners of the Champions League 2024 were celebrated for their CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth 5 Millwall 1, Swansea 0 Sheff Wed 1, Bristol City 2 Stoke 0, Burnley 2 Hull 0, Sunderland 2 Luton Town 0, West Brom 0 Blackburn 2, Sheff Utd 3 Middlesbrough 1. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Leeds 32 20 9 3 66 19 69 Sheff Utd 32 21 6 5 46 23 67 Burnley 32 17 13 2 39 9 64 Sunderland 32 17 11 4 49 28 62 Blackburn 32 14 6 12 37 31 48 West Brom 32 11 14 7 41 30 47 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (Knockout phase playoffs, 1st leg) : Club Brugge 2 (Jutgla 15, Nilsson 90+4-pen) Atalanta 1 (Pasalic 41) , Celtic 1 (Maeda 79) Bayern Munich 2 (Olise 45, Kane 49) , Feyenoord 1 (Paixao 3) AC Milan 0, Monaco 0 Benfica 1 (Pavlidis 48) . ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Everton 2 (Beto 11, Tarkowski 90+8) Liverpool 2 (Mac Allister 16, Salah 73) . P W D L F A Pts Liverpool 24 17 6 1 58 23 57 Arsenal 24 14 8 2 49 22 50 Nottm Forest 24 14 5 5 40 27 47 Chelsea 24 12 7 5 47 31 43 Man City 24 12 5 7 48 35 41 Newcastle 24 12 5 7 42 29 41 Bournemouth 24 11 7 6 41 28 40 Aston Villa 24 10 7 7 34 37 37 Fulham 24 9 9 6 36 32 36 Brighton 24 8 10 6 35 38 34 Brentford 24 9 4 11 42 42 31 Crystal Palace 24 7 9 8 28 30 30 Man United 24 8 5 11 28 34 29 Tottenham 24 8 3 13 48 37 27 Everton 24 6 9 9 25 30 27 West Ham 24 7 6 11 29 46 27 Wolves 24 5 4 15 34 52 19 Leicester 24 4 5 15 25 53 17 Ipswich 24 3 7 14 22 49 16 Southampton 24 2 3 19 18 54 9

Hong Kong. “We fielded our best players to face Hong Kong’s best, and we know that this would be a 50-50 match,” said Malaysia men’s singles coach, K. Yogendran. “We also knew that the deciding point would come from the mixed doubles. We chose Pang Ron-Su Yin because they had a better record against Tang Chun Man. “But Chun Man carried his role as the senior player in the team well to help Hong Kong. “We chose Justin Hoh ahead of Leong Jun Hao as Jun Hao has a poor record (0-2) against Lee Cheuk Yiu. We thought that Justin could spring a surprise, however, Cheuk Yiu’s experience carried him to victory. “I’m very pleased with how Letshanaa and Wei Chong-Kai Wun played, winning a point each for the team, and our women’s doubles tried their best against higher-ranked opponents.” – Bernama

stage and qualify for the quarterfinals. Their campaign in the 2025 edition came to an end yesterday as they suffered a 2-3 defeat to arch-rivals Indonesia during the tournament held in Conson Gymnasium, Qingdao, China. Malaysia fell behind early when seasoned mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie squandered a first-game win of 21-17, eventually losing 13-21, 18-21 to Dejan Fernandisyah-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti. Indonesia then extended their lead as women’s singles shuttler Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi triumphed over K. Letshanaa, 21-12, 21-19. National men’s singles player and world No. 28, Leong Jun Hao, offered a brief moment of hope for Malaysia as he bounced back from a game down to see off world No. 63 Yohanes Saut

Indonesia Masters 2025 men’s doubles champions and world No. 12 pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun prevented a heavier defeat for Malaysia, edging past world No. 16 duo Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin 25 27, 21-17, 23-21 in the final game. With yesterday’s result, Indonesia, who had swept Hong Kong 5-0 in their opening Group B match on Tuesday, advanced to the quarterfinals as group champions, followed by Hong Kong, while Malaysia finished bottom without a single victory. Yesterday, Malaysia began their Group B campaign on the wrong foot by losing 2-3 to

Armed Forces, Territory Stingers share spoils

ARMED FORCES HT (AFHT) managed to hold Australian outfit Territory Stingers (TS) to a 4-4 draw in their group stage Malaysian Hockey League (MHL 2025) match at the Education Ministry of Malaysia Hockey Stadium, in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday tonight. TS scored three field goals through Isaac Aaron Farmilo (16th minute), Adrian Daniel Lockley (21st minute) and Zach Rakkas (60th minute) while Isaac was also on target from a penalty corner strike in the 25th minute.

had a goal feast when they defeated AFHT 5-2, thus collecting six points after having played three of the six scheduled matches. The TS women’s team opened the scoring through a penalty corner by Elouise Bernandette Buckley in the eighth minute before Tiana Kym Crompton added another field goal in the ninth minute before AFHT closed the gap through Nur Qashrina Azli in the 13th minute. Entering the second quarter, both teams struggled to find pace before TS added another goal through

Jemma Claire Buckley in the 27th minute, followed by two more field goals each by Destiny Violet Batman Peris (31st minute) and Elouise Bernandette Buckley (44th minute) in the third quarter. Nurul Najihah Mohd Sukur contributed AFHT’s second goal in the 49th minute (fourth quarter). TS are currently ranked fifth out of seven teams with six points, while AFHT are sixth with three points while the Blue Warriors remain at the top of the table after collecting 15 points from five matches. – Bernama provided by the Ministry of Finance (MoF). “The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) has asked the NSC to consider giving additional funds because she (Aruwin) finished fourth and perhaps with more support, she could get on the podium,” Yeoh said. “The NSC is considering the matter because our budget is not bottomless as it is determined annually by the MoF. So, we must study and plan properly because last year, our special budget’s priority was the payment of EPF (contributions), all athletes,” she said. Perodua open to spon soring Malaysian sports NATIONAL carmaker Perodua is open to the possibility of sponsoring Malaysian sports, including local football teams. Its chairman, Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin said this was part of its broader engagement in the sporting scene. He revealed that the local automotive giant was recently approached by English Premier League’s Manchester United to be their sponsor. “Recently, I don’t know if I should say this... but I received a letter from former European champions Manchester United asking if they could feature the Perodua logo on one of their shirts and whether we could sponsor them. I don’t usually say this in public, but I’m an Arsenal supporter. If I did that, it wouldn’t be fair to my Arsenal team,” he joked.

Three of AFHT’s four goals were contributed by hattrick hero Ismail Abu in the 39th, 47th and 58th minutes, while Tg Nasrul Hakimie Tg Abd Rahim scored the other through a penalty corner in the 39th minute. Currently, TS are eighth out of 10 teams with six points after six matches while AFHT is at the bottom of the table with four points while Tenaga Nasional Berhad is in first place with 21 points while Terengganu Hockey Team with the same number of points are in second place. Meanwhile, the TS women’s team

Milo, FAM unite in grassroots initiative

BRIEFS Muay Thai star to meet fans in Kota Bharu THE T-Fight 2025 Muay Thai Championship will feature One Championship catchweight category champion Ahmad Nor Iman Aliff Rakib as a special guest at Mydin Mall Tunjong in Kota Bharu today. T-Fight Championship director Mohd Khairul Hafiz Hassan said the 21 year-old national Muay Thai star, better known as Aliff Rakib, will hold a meet-and-greet session with fans at 6pm. “We also have a surprise in store for the spectators with Aliff later in the evening… but we can’t reveal the exact time yet. If you want to know, you’ll have to come and see for yourself. We chose him (Aliff Rakib) because he has reached an elite level, winning several world championships, and we want young Muay Thai athletes to look up to him as an inspiration and role model in this sport,” he told a press conference in Tunjong yesterday. KBS may provide addi tional funds for Aruwin THE Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) will consider providing additional funds to alpine ski racer Aruwin Salehhuddin following her fourth placing in slalom at the 9th Asian Winter Games (AWG) in Harbin, China. Its Minister, Hannah Yeoh said this would, however, be subject to the National Sports Council’s (NSC) special budget

dedication outstanding performances, serving as a testament to the incredible potential of emerging football talents. Parents and participants expressed their gratitude for the incredible initiative. “As a parent, I am deeply grateful for the opportunity given to my children to join this event which has truly inspired them to continue playing and

football with passion,” said Muhammad Zulfazli bin Zulkeply. Meanwhile, 14-year-old participant Qaseh Damia Irdina binti Mohd Fauzi from SMK Ayer Keroh, Melaka said: “Thank you, Milo, for giving us the opportunity to be part of this incredible journey, allowing us to emerge as champions and proudly represent Melaka on this stage.”