13/03/2025

SPORTS THURSDAY | MAR 13, 2025

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Buriram dash JDT’s ACLE quarterfinal hopes JOHOR DARUL TA’ZIM (JDT) head coach Hector Bidoglio expressed sadness after his team’s defeat to Thailand’s Buriram United, but vowed to continue working and growing in the future. single goal by the visiting club’s striker Suphanat Mueanta in the 58th minute.

RESULTS & STANDINGS

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (Last 16, 2nd leg) : Barcelona 3 (Raphinha 11, 42, Yamal 27) Benfica 1 (Otamendi 13) –Barcelona win 4-1 on agg , Bayer Leverkusen 0 Bayern Munich 2 (Kane 52, Davies 71) – Bayern win 5-0 on agg , Inter Milan 2 (Thuram 8, Calhanoglu 51-pen) Feyenoord 1 (Moder 42-pen) – Inter win 4-1 on agg , Liverpool 0 Paris Saint-Germain 1 (Dembele 12) aet – 1-1 on agg; PSG win 4-1 on penal ties . ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP: Middles brough 2 QPR 1, Burnley 1 West Brom 1, Sunderland 1 Preston 1, Derby 2 Coven try 0, Cardiff 1 Luton Town 2, Norwich 2 Sheff Wed 3, Sheffield United 1 Bristol City 1. P W D L F A Pts Sheff Utd 37 24 7 6 52 28 77 Leeds 36 22 10 4 72 23 76 Burnley 37 20 15 2 50 11 75 Sunderland 37 19 12 6 55 34 69 West Brom 37 13 17 7 47 33 56 Coventry 37 16 8 13 52 48 56 Bristol City 37 13 15 9 47 40 54 Mid’boro 37 15 8 14 57 48 53 Blackburn 36 15 7 14 41 37 52 Sheff Wed 37 14 9 14 53 58 51 Norwich 37 12 13 12 59 52 49 Watford 36 14 7 15 46 50 49 Millwall 36 12 12 12 36 37 48 QPR 37 11 11 15 42 48 44 Preston 37 9 17 11 37 43 44 Swansea 36 12 8 16 38 46 44 Portsmouth 36 11 9 16 44 57 42 Oxford Utd 36 9 12 15 37 53 39 Hull 36 9 10 17 36 45 37 Stoke 36 8 12 16 36 50 36 Cardiff 37 8 12 17 40 61 36 Derby 37 9 8 20 37 49 35 Luton Town 37 9 7 21 34 60 34 Plymouth 36 6 12 18 36 73 30 Muhammad Azeem ready for Universiade 2025 NATIONAL sprinter Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi is poised to take on the country’s challenge at the 2025 Rhine Ruhr World University Games (Universiade) in Germany, according to contingent head Assoc Prof Datuk Ts Dr Mohd Hafiz Yusoff. However, he explained that the final selection still depends on discussions with the National Sports Council (MSN) to ensure there are no schedule conflicts with other tournaments, in addition to taking into account the athlete’s current performance and fitness level. “Muhammad Azeem is indeed one of the candidates on the list but we need to verify and review with MSN to avoid any schedule overlap. That is our priority,” he said. Mohd Hafiz added that the Malaysian Contingent Committee will hold an athlete selection workshop to shortlist 60 athletes who will compete in seven of the 19 events contested at the 2025 Universiade. Rachel fights back to clear hurdle in Brisbane MALAYSIA’S top squash player Rachel Arnold staged an impressive comeback in the opening round of the Australian Open 2025, overturning a two-game deficit to defeat Egypt’s Nour Heikal at South Bank Piazza, Brisbane. The 21 year-old Nour started strongly and caught Rachel off guard to secure a 2-0 lead with 11-7 and 11-9 wins. However, the Malaysian fought back in dominant fashion, taking the next three games 11-5, 11-6 and 11-4 to seal the victory. Rachel will next face Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby in the second round today, with the world No. 19 holding a 3-3 head-to-head record against Rowan. BRIEFS

played for the honour of themselves, the team and country. “It was clear from the beginning that we had space to counter-attack because JDT was pressured to score. We had many chances to score two or three goals in counter attacks. “It’s important to keep a cool head in this kind of situation, we need to understand and read the game. My players adapt faster and did perfectly,” said the Brazilian. Player of the match Suphanat expressed gratitude towards his teammates for making it easier for him to perform against JDT in clenching an important win for the club to advance to the quarterfinals of the ACLE in Saudi Arabia next month. “The coach trust me and I trust the coach. The coach will tell me what I need to do to improve my game, so the team can do well,” said the 23-year-old. – Bernama

Commenting on the Southern Tigers’ disallowed goal in the last minute of the match, Bidoglio said they have no choice but to accept the decision by Kuwaiti referee Ahmad Alali. “My staff said no offside but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) said yes. Our intention was to push all the time playing in the opponent’s ground, sometimes on the side, sometimes shooting and sometimes crossing. “We tried all the possibilities but this is football. I am very sad for our fans, very sad for our boss (JDT’s owner Tunku Mahkota Ismail) and my colleagues,” he added.

The Argentinian said his players gave 100% effort and it showed on the pitch during their 0-1 loss to the Thai’s side at the 2024/25 AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE). “I am very sad because I saw the players working hard every week but this is football. Now, we need to continue working and growing because JDT is a big club. This club’s future doesn’t depend on one result. “I am sure that in the coming weeks, in the coming months and the coming years, JDT will continue to grow,” he said during the post-match press conference at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Tuesday. The second leg match against Buriram marked the exit of the Malaysian top football club, with a

Meanwhile, Buriram’s head coach Osmar Loss Vieira said he was very happy and proud with the achievement because his boys

JDT’s Bergson Da Silva (centre) heads the ball during the match against Buriram United at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium. – BERNAMAPIC

175/25

12/03/2025

1602 8986 6873

9346 5779 2718 4727 3738

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3062 9407 1664 6319 5602

RM20,299,679.81

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1602 + 8986 8986 + 1602 6873 + 1602

RM247,164.89

Early exit for Malaysians Disappointing results as Tang Jie-Ee Wei, Zii Jia and Aaron-Wooi Yik crash out in Birmingham

6 9 101117273036

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N ATIONAL mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei suffered an early exit in the opening round of the All England Championship. The second-seeded Malaysians were way below par as they fell to Indonesia’s Rehan Kusharjanto-Gloria Widjaja 18-21, 22-20, 21-11. The newly formed Indonesian pair have been in impressive form, finishing runners-up at the German Open and Orleans Masters in the past two weeks. For Tang Jie-Ee Wei, it was yet another disastrous outing, as they have now failed to progress beyond the last 16 in three consecutive All England appearances. Earlier, National men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia suffered an early exit after losing to unseeded Hong Kong player Angus Ng Ka Long in the first round yesterday. In the match held at Utilita Arena in Birmingham, seventh-seed Zii Jia got off to a great start, claiming the first set 21-19. However, he was unable to maintain his momentum, allowing Ka Long to fight back

and secure a 21-16, 21-12 victory in a match that lasted over an hour. The Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist admitted that his movements were restricted as he had yet to fully recover from an ankle injury sustained last December. “I thought I was ready for this Europe tour because I had about two weeks of proper training before coming here. (But) these injuries actually take much longer (to heal) than I expected. “Maybe I was too rushed to come back. Things have happened, so I have to accept it,” Zii Jia said in an audio clip shared by the Badminton World Federation. Meanwhile, in the men’s doubles category, two Malaysian pairs – Aaron Chia Soh Wooi Yik and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi – also crashed out in the first round after losing to their respective opponents. Aaron-Wooi Yik suffered a surprise defeat to Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard 16-21, 21-16, 18-21, while Yew Sin Ee Yi fell to England’s Ben Lane-Sean Vendy 18-21, 19-21. – Bernama

RM12,330,771.53

RM145,336.58

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