10/06/2025

SPORTS TUESDAY | JUNE 10, 2025

31

Kim wary Malaysia’s game ahead of crucial tie

TOUCHLINES LIVERPOOL are set to make a final offer worth £118m (RM678m), inclu sive of add-ons, for Germany attack ing midfielder Florian Wirtz, 22, after Bayer Leverkusen rejected a £113m (RM650m) bid. EVERTON are interested in England midfielder Jack Grealish, but any move might have to be a loan deal because of the 29-year-old’s wages at Manchester City. REAL MADRID are to make one last attempt to sign Real Sociedad’s 26 year-old Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi, who is close to joining Arsenal. ARSENAL are yet to agree a deal with RB Leipzig for their 22-year-old Slovenia forward Benjamin Sesko, but the next round of talks have been scheduled. DENMARK striker Rasmus Hojlund, 22, says he is not thinking about leaving Man United, despite being linked with a move to Inter Milan. ENGLAND midfielder Myles Lewis Skelly, 18, is set to sign a new Arsenal deal despite interest from Real Madrid. Speedy Tigress target Nations Cup semis THE national women’s hockey squad are aiming to at least reach the semifinals of the FIH Women’s Nations Cup 2 tournament in Poland from June 16 to 22. The Speedy Tigress are drawn in Group A alongside South Africa, Uruguay and host nation Poland. National Team Management Committee chairman Datuk Ahmad Najmi Abdul Razak said the target is considered realistic as Malaysia are the second strongest team in Group A after South Africa. “I have discussed with the coaching line-up and we hope to qualify for the semifinals. This is because the tournament format is the same as the Men’s Nations Cup where the top two teams from each group will progress to the semifinals. “So our first target is to be in the top two (of Group B). In fact, based on the current rankings, we are the second-best team in Group A. So we hope to do our best at the Nations Cup,” he said. He said this at the national women’s hockey team’s press conference for the Women’s Nations Cup 2 and the launch of the team’s latest jersey at the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Headquarters here yesterday. At the press conference, Ahmad Najmi also announced the 20 players who will carry the nation’s challenge at the tournament. Meanwhile, head coach Nasihin Nubli said that although Malaysia have a good ranking on paper, he reminded his players to remain focused in every match. According to him, every team in Group A has the potential to reach the semifinals, especially the host nation. “Poland are among the teams we cannot underestimate. Although they are ranked 27th, I believe that ranking does not reflect their current performance. “In fact, during the European League qualifiers, they finished in second place. So I feel their level is quite high,” he said. – Bernama

VIETNAM head coach Kim Sang Sik is finding it difficult to analyse the Harimau Malaya’s game ahead of their second Group F match in the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight. Kim said that this was due to the composition of head coach Peter Chlamovski’s Malaysian squad, which has a mix of local, naturalised and heritage players. “I think it will be a difficult match. From what I know, Malaysia have 18 players in the squad and there are five new faces for the game against Vietnam. “It’s true, we are having a hard time evaluating their players, there is not much information for us,

good players. Tomorrow’s match will not be easy for us, but we have our goals and determination. This match won’t be like 2018. Malaysia have a new coach and a new squad,” he said. Duy Manh was, of course, referring to the 2018 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup final where he helped Vietnam defeat Malaysia 3-2 on aggregate. “This will be the most important match, (and) could be the most difficult match to advance to the 2027 Asian Cup. We will do our best to win tomorrow’s match. If we can play to our strengths, like playing as a team and attacking as a unit, we can get the points,” said Duy Manh. – Bernama

but we are preparing well. We aim to be ready and put up a strong performance tomorrow,” he told a pre-match press conference yesterday. The 48-year-old coach was referring to the inclusion of five new heritage players in the Harimau Malaya squad. Their arrival completes the list of seven heritage players in the national team this year. Meanwhile, Golden Star Warriors captain Do Duy Manh also believes that the presence of these heritage players in the Malaysian squad will make tonight’s match a tough one, despite his team’s favourable head-to-head record against the Harimau Malaya. “There are many foreign players. They are very

Record favours Vietnam … but Cklamovski says Harimau Malaya better equipped to defy the odds T HE head-to-head record favours Vietnam, but Harimau Malaya head coach Peter Cklamovski believes his men are ready to tear the formbook to Facundo Garces and Gabriel Palmero; and midfielder Hector Hevel.

it stifle the Harimau Malaya players’ tomorrow, or will it spur them to defy the odds? Cklamovski had this to say: “Instead of being fearful of that (record against Vietnam), it’s a challenge that the players and all the staff in our environment want to embrace … and that opportunity is in front of us.” Meanwhile, national team captain Matthew Davies said the backline will not take anything for granted despite Vietnam missing two key attackers – Nguyen Cong Phuong and Nguyen Xuan Son. The Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) player said they’d rather focus on the team’s overall performance rather than individual displays. “I think one of the differences I’ve noticed under Peter (Cklamovski) is that we’re more focused on how we play as a group rather than our individual performances. “We’re also focusing on ourselves rather than the opposition. So, while we’re aware (of Vietnam’s strength) and we respect them, I think we’ll be more focused on what we

Cklamovski is also satisfied with the players’ commitment throughout the centralised training camp, which began on May 19, saying he believes they now have a clear understanding of the football philosophy he is trying to implement. “It’s been sharp, and again, our physical numbers keep improving. We’re

pieces when the two teams meet in their second Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers today (9pm local time) at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil. Malaysia last defeated Vietnam 4-2 in the semifinals of the 2014 AFF Cup in Hanoi and, since then, have lost seven times and drawn once against Vietnam across all competitions. So, why does the Australian tactician feel that Malaysia are better equipped than ever to turn the tide and end their decade-long winless streak against the Golden Star Warriors? Two factors stand out: one is the presence of seven new heritage players and the other is that the team have had a proper training camp ahead of this crucial tie. Cklamovski believes the arrival of the heritage players, together with the presence of the local and naturalised players, will give Harimau Malaya more solidity at the back, creativity in midfield and bite up front. The seven heritage players in the squad are strikers Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca and Joao Figueiredo; defenders Jon Irazabal,

looking forward to turning all of that into a team performance tomorrow night,” the 46-year-old coach said at a pre match press conference yesterday. With Vietnam having held the upper hand over them for so long, wi l l

do tomorrow night,” said the 30-year-old player. – Bernama

Harimau Malaya head coach Peter Cklamovski. – BERNAMAPIC

Rexy hails Pearly-Thinaah’s ‘awesome’ performance in Jakarta NATIONAL doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky needed just one word to describe the performance of top women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah in the Indonesia Open 2025 final in Jakarta on Sunday – “awesome.” “The only thing that I can say is that their performance was awesome,” he told Bernama . As runners-up, Pearly-Thinaah took home USD50,750 (RM215k) while the champions Sheng Shu-Tan Ning pocketed USD107,300 (RM454k).

“All our doubles players played really well in the Indonesia Open,” he said. Of the seven other national doubles pairs competing at the Indonesia Open, two reached the semifinals: men’s doubles duo Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun, and mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei. Last Saturday, Wei Chong and Kai Wun narrowly lost to the home favourites Sabar Karyaman and Moh Reza Isfahani, 18-21, 21-12, 18-21, while Tang Jie and Ee Wei were edged out by Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran, 23-21, 15-21, 11-21. – Bernama

Despite narrowly missing out on the top podium, Rexy expressed satisfaction with the world No. 4 duo’s performance, noting their composure and focus against the world No. 1 pair from China, Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning, at the iconic Istora Senayan. Pearly and Thinaah pushed the top seeds to the limit in a gripping one hour and 29 minutes battle, ultimately falling 25-23, 12-21, 19-21.

Although Sunday’s result extended Sheng Shu and Tan Ning’s lead in the rivalry to 8-3, Pearly and Thinaah’s latest performance indicates the gap is narrowing. Meanwhile, the Indonesian doubles expert also expressed satisfaction with the strong overall showing from other national doubles representatives at the Super 1000 tournament.