12/05/2025

SPORTS MONDAY | MAY 12, 2025

31

Sivasangari leads M’sian charge Four national squash players storm into second round of World Championships

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Fulham 1 (Jimenez 17) Everton 3 (Mykolenko 45+3, Keane 70, Beto 73), Ipswich 0 Brent ford 1 (Schade 18) , Southampton 0 Manchester City 0, Wolves 0 Brighton 2 (Welbeck 28-pen, Gruda 85), Bourne mouth 0 Aston Villa 1 (Watkins 45+6) . TOP 6 P W D L F A PTS Liverpool 35 25 7 3 81 35 82 Arsenal 35 18 13 4 64 31 67 Man City 36 19 8 9 67 43 65 Newcastle 35 19 6 10 66 45 63 Chelsea 35 18 9 8 62 41 63 Aston Villa 36 18 9 9 56 49 63 Nottm Forest 35 18 7 10 54 42 61 Brentford 36 16 7 13 63 53 55 Brighton 36 14 13 9 59 56 55 Bournemouth 36 14 11 11 55 43 53 Fulham 36 14 9 13 51 50 51 Crystal Palace 35 11 13 11 44 48 46 Everton 36 9 15 12 39 44 42 Wolves 36 12 5 19 51 64 41 Man Utd 35 10 9 16 42 51 39 Tottenham 35 11 5 19 63 57 38 West Ham 35 9 10 16 40 59 37 Ipswich 36 4 10 22 35 77 22 Leicester 35 5 6 2429 76 21 Southampton 36 2 6 28 25 82 12 LA LIGA: Valencia 3 (Pepelu 8-pen, Lopez 18, Duro 37-pen) Getafe 0, Celta Vigo 3 (Moriba 19, Mingueza 65, Iglesias 90+1) Sevilla 2 (Gudelj 45+8-pen, Salas 90+8) , Real Mallorca 2 (Mascarell 28, Darder 49) Valladolid (Chuki 11) 1, Girona 0 Villar real 1 (Eyong 89), Atletico Madrid 4 (Sorloth 7, 10, 11, 30) Real Sociedad 0. TOP 6 P W D L F A PTS Barcelona 34 25 4 5 91 33 79 Real Madrid 34 23 6 5 69 33 75 Atletico 35 20 10 5 60 27 70 A. Bilbao 34 16 13 5 50 26 61 Villarreal 35 17 10 8 61 47 61 Real Betis 34 16 9 9 52 42 57 Celta Vigo 35 14 7 14 55 54 49 SERIE A: Como 3 (Caqueret 40, Stre fezza 45+2, Cutrone 77) Cagliari 1 (Adopo 22), Empoli 2 (Fazzini 11, Anjorin 86) Parma 1 (Djuric 73), Lazio 1 (Vecino 90+6) Juventus 1 (Kolo Muani 51). TOP 6 P W D L F A PTS Napoli 35 23 8 4 55 25 77 Inter Milan 35 22 8 5 73 33 74 Atalanta 35 20 8 7 71 31 68 Juventus 36 16 16 4 53 33 64 Lazio 36 18 10 8 59 46 64 Roma 35 18 9 8 50 32 63 BUNDESLIGA: Bayern Munich 2 B. M’gladbach 0, Werder Bremen 0 RB Leipzig 0, Union Berlin 0 Heidenheim 3, Bochum 1 Mainz 4, Holstein Kiel 1 Freiburg 2. TOP 6 P W D L F A PTS Bayern 33 24 7 2 95 32 79 B. Leverkusen 32 19 11 2 68 37 68 E. Frankfurt 32 16 8 8 63 43 56 Freiburg 33 16 7 10 48 50 55 B. Dortmund 32 15 6 11 64 49 51 Mainz 33 14 9 10 53 41 51 LIGUE 1: Auxerre 1 Nantes 1, Angers 2 Strasbourg 1, Rennes 2 Nice 0, Montpel lier 1 Paris SG 4, Toulouse 1 Lens 1, Reims 0 Saint-Etienne 2, Monaco 2 Lyon 0, Brest 2 Lille 0, Le Havre 1 Marseille 3. TOP 6 P W D L F A PTS Paris SG 33 25 6 2 89 34 81 Marseille 33 19 5 9 70 45 62 Monaco 33 18 7 8 63 37 61 Nice 33 16 9 8 60 41 57 Lille 33 16 9 8 50 35 57 Strasbourg 33 16 9 8 54 41 57 CHAMPIONS RELEGATED

F OUR national squash players, including S. Sivasangari, checked into the second round of the 2024-2025 World Championships in Chicago, United States, on Saturday. In the women’s category, world No. 9 Sivasangari kicked off her world meet campaign held at University Club of Chicago by disposing world No. 52 Marta Dominguez of Spain, 11-4, 11 5, 16-18, 11-2. Seventh seed Sivasangari will next face Sana Ibrahim of Egypt, who defeated Emilia Soini of Finland, 11-8, 11-5, 11-5. Asian champion Sivasangari, who won the Cincinnati Cup in February, has won all her previous four meetings with the Egyptian. World No. 19 Rachel Arnold also booked her spot in the next round, extending her winning streak to three matches over Egypt’s Nour Heikal 11-9, 11-9, 4-11, 11-3. A tough challenge awaits Rachel in the second round as she is set to face home favourite and world No. 4 Olivia Weaver, who dashed hopes of an all-Malaysian affair by outplaying Aifa Azman, BRIEFS Future bright in 3m springboard NATIONAL senior diver Muhammad Syafiq Puteh regards Nurqayyum Nazmi Mohamad Nazim and Yong Rui Jie as promising successors in the men’s 3 metre (m) springboard event in the years to come. Muhammad Syafiq said both national backup divers, aged 19, have bright futures based on their current abilities, and are capable of continuing Malaysia’s legacy in the 3m springboard discipline. “Qayyum and Rui Jie are very talented prospects and I believe they’ll be able to stand on the podium one day. I also hope they can take over my place, just as I once replaced Ooi Tze Liang, and continue to strengthen our standing in the 3m springboard,” he said when met after the medal ceremony of the Second National Diving Selection

11-3, 11-2, 11-1.

Ajaz Azmat said. “But Rachel and Aira will face a tough task in the second round against the higher ranked Olivia and Salma whom our players have never beaten before. “We are concerned with Aifa and Ainaa’s performance as they lost so easily without even getting five points from each game. “We need to talk to them to find out what went wrong. They need to improve for the British Open and Asian Championships next month.” – Bernama/Agencies

Newly-crowned 2025 champion, Aira Azman, is also through to the second round as she saw off Torrie Malik from England, 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 11-8. World No. 26 Aira will next play Egypt’s Salma Hany, who triumphed against compatriot, Menna Hamed, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-3. Another American contender, Amanda Sobhy, proved too strong for Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi, cruising to a commanding scoreline of 11-3, 11-2, 11-3. In the men’s category, world No. 10 Ng Eain Yow lived up to expectations as he eased past England’s Patrick Rooney, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6. Tenth seeded Eain Yow will set up a second round encounter with Pakistan’s Muhammad Asim Khan, who survived a five-set thriller against French player Auguste Dussourd, 11-9, 7-11, 12 10, 7-11, 11-2. “Eain Yow is mentally strong and he should not have a problem beating Asim in the second round. Sivasangari is also all fired up to get the better of Sana,” national chief coach Bermuda Open

202/25

11/05/2025

1651 5049 1211

1691 4174 6686 7443 6986

9329 6337 4567 4572 5407

6818 4935 0784 6488 0804

0023 6691 0391 8169 7653

RM15,001,728.85

1651 + 1211 5049 + 1211 1211 + 5049

1651 + 5049 5049 + 1651 1211 + 1651

RM463,138.75

Trials at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. In yesterday’s action, Muhammad Syafiq dominated the men’s 3m springboard competition with a score of 391.25 points, edging out Nurqayyum Nazmi who finished second with 390.70 points, while Rui Jie came third with 360.40 points. Hakim Danish on podium even after crash A crash early in the first lap was not enough to stop Malaysian teen racer Muhammad Hakim Danish Ramli from

1 4 5 1314162336

19 30

Muhammad Syafiq Puteh poses with the gold medal in the men’s three-metre springboard event at the National Diving Selection Trials. – BERNAMAPIC

finishing second in of the second 2025 MotoGP Rookies Cup race at Le Mans Circuit in France yesterday. Hakim Danish started off in pole position in wet conditions for Race 2, and suffered a crash in the first lap but was able to recover and get back into the race for a podium finish. The 16-year-old was 12.361 seconds (s) behind winner Spaniard Benat Fernandez, who recorded a time of 25:46.423s, while Marco Morelli from Argentina finished third (+21.922s). “I thought I already lost the podium but I picked up my bike, rejoined the race, try to be calm and try to overtake as much as I can and I manage to get the podium,” he said after the race. The result means that the Malaysian remains on top of the overall racer standings with 80 points, ahead of Fernandez (57 points) and Brian Uriarte (50 points). All Malaysian duel in Thailand NATIONAL men’s doubles shuttler Muhammad Haikal Nazri expects a tough match when he and his partner Choong Hon Jian face fellow

RM11,870,993.09

RM170,710.52

Malaysians Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun at the Thailand Open, which begins tomorrow. Muhammad Haikal said that although they have the advantage of being familiar with Wei Chong Kai Wun’s playing style, he does not want to set high expectations and is instead focused on finishing the tournament injury-free ahead of the Malaysia Masters, which begins on May 20. “It’s always quite tough to face teammates. I don’t enjoy playing against my own compatriots on court. I would rather face top-10 international players than fellow Malaysians. I don’t want to put high hopes, especially after losing at the Taiwan Open. I know their strengths and weaknesses, and they know ours too. Everyone has their own advantages,” he told reporters recently.

5 1 4 9 1 1 51491

14911

5149

4911

514

911

51

11

49

06

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