17/06/2025

SPORTS TUESDAY | JUNE 17, 2025 31 Perak eyeing bigger gold haul … and wants contingent to exceed last year’s medal tally at Sukma Selangor 2026 P ERAK is gunning to surpass the 35-gold medal tally it achieved at last year’s Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak when the Selangor edition kicks off in National Football Championship held at Taman Dr Seenivasagam field on Sunday. At Sukma Sarawak 2024, Perak delivered its best performance in 15 years, especially outside its home turf, finishing seventh out of 15 teams with a haul of 35 gold, 38 silver and 57 bronze medals. Semi Pro League squad with the bulk of Sukma players, a strategy he believes will elevate their game to a higher level. “This approach gives our Sukma players the platform to sharpen their skills in a competitive environment, especially going up against seasoned players, some with Super League experience.

RESULTS & STANDINGS

CLUB WORLD CUP Group A: Palmeiras 0 Porto 0.

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Al Ahly

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Palmeiras Inter Miami

1 Group B: Paris Saint-Germain 4 (Ruiz 19, Vitinha 45+1, Mayulu 87, Lee 90+7-pen) Atletico Madrid 0, Botafogo 2 (Jair Cunha 28, Igor Jesus 44) Seattle Sound ers 1 (Roldan 75) . P W D L F A Pts Paris SG 1 1 0 0 4 0 3 Botafogo 1 1 0 0 2 1 3 Seattle 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 Atletico 1 0 0 1 0 4 0 Group C: Bayern Munich 10 (Coman 6, 21, Boey 18, Olise 20, 45+3, Muller 45, 89, Musiala 67, 73-pen, 84) Auckland City 0. P W D L F A Pts B. Munich 1 1 0 0 10 0 3 Benfica 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Boca Juniors 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Auckland City 1 0 0 1 0 10 0 CONCACAF GOLD CUP United States 5 Trinidad and Tobago 0, Haiti 0 Saudi Arabia 1, Costa Rica 4 Suri name 3. FRESH from clinching a hattrick of titles at Season 15 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Malaysia Professional League (MPLMY) yesterday, Selangor Red Giants (SRG.OG) are now shifting focus to the Mid Season Cup (MSC) to be held in conjunction with the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in July. Selangor Red Giants Esports chairman Simon Lim said the players will be given a seven-day break before resuming training to prepare for their MSC title defence. “We are going to defend our MSC crown, and it won’t be easy. As you can see, every team has improved their gameplay. “However, I have full confidence in our players and coaches. Who knows, we might even become back-to-back MSC champions,” he said in a statement yesterday. SRG.OG made history last year by becoming the first Malaysian team to win the MSC, defeating Filipino side AP Bren 4-2 in the final. The breakthrough also ended a seven-year title drought for Malaysian teams at international MLBB tournaments. Malaysia will be represented by two teams at MSC 2025, with Homebois also qualifying as MPLMY Season 15 runners up. Lim also credited SRG.OG’s MPLMY title hattrick to the dedication and hard work of the players and coaches, who sacrificed their time and energy to retain the trophy. “Whenever the players weren’t satisfied with how a scrim session went, they would be the ones asking for extra scrims. “They were willing to go the extra mile, put in more effort, and this is the reward they have earned,” he said. Yesterday, SRG.OG became the first team to complete an MPLMY championship hattrick after defeating Homebois 4-0 in the grand final at Stadium Juara, Bukit Kiara. – Bernama SRG.OG turn focus to MSC title defence

August next year. State Sports Council (MSN) director Mazlan Mohamad said athlete selection is in progress, with the final squad expected to be confirmed by the end of the year. “The selection process, especially for combat sports such as judo and wushu , is ongoing. The same goes for other sports that will be contested at Sukma Selangor. “At this point, we have a long list of athletes. There’s still time for them to prove themselves and earn their place in the Perak contingent,” he said at the closing ceremony of the XCRIIM 2025

Looking ahead to Sukma Selangor 2026, Mazlan said the focus remains sharp through the continuation of the Belang Tarung Tiga Warna – Extended Versions 2.0 programme, which zeroes in on 28 core sports. The RM500,000 programme will prioritise key medal contributors in football, futsal, aquatics, archery, shooting, athletics and rugby. Meanwhile, Mazlan welcomed Perak Football Association’s (Pafa) move to reinforce its A1

“Pafa’s initiative offers a crucial advantage in building a stronger and more prepared Sukma squad,” he added. On June 4, Pafa president Datuk Mohd Azhar Jamaluddin announced that Perak’s debut A1 Semi Pro League campaign will be powered largely by Sukma talent, supported by several senior players with top-tier experience. – Bernama

Speedy Tigers held in Nations Cup opener

MALAYSIA’S hopes of starting strong as hosts of the 2025 FIH Nations Cup hockey tournament were dashed after being held to a 3 3 draw against Pakistan at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Sunday night. The result in their opening Group B match saw Sarjit Singh’s men pick up a point, placing Malaysia second in the group behind New Zealand, who lead with three points. Pakistan are third, while Japan sit at the bottom with no points following their 1-2 loss to New Zealand. The Green Shirts dominated the first half of the match, going 2-0 up through a field goal by Ahmad Nadeem in the sixth minute and a penalty corner conversion by Abdul Rehman three minutes later. However, the Speedy Tigers mounted a comeback in the final

the players either because the game was delayed from 8pm to 8.40pm, then to 9.20pm. Maybe that contributed to the nervous start. “As a coach, what else can you ask for? Very good comeback – from 2-0 down, we came back to 2-2. Then we were 3-2 down again, and we came back to 3-3. We even had a last chance to make it 4-3, but that’s part of the game,” he said. Meanwhile, Speedy Tigers captain Muhammad Marhan Mohd Jalil said the space given to the opposition cost them, but they managed to recover in the second half.

quarter, narrowing the gap with a field goal by Fitri Saari in the 49th minute, followed by an equaliser from Syed Mohd Syafiq Syed Cholan in the 52nd. Pakistan reclaimed the lead through Waheed Ashraf Rana in the 54th minute, but Syed Mohd Syafiq salvaged national pride with another goal just two minutes later to level the score. Meanwhile,

commenting on the match, Sarjit said he was still satisfied with his players’ performance, particularly their late comeback. “It was a very nervous start. We can’t blame

“Respect is important in a match, but we must still show our capability on the field,” he said. – Bernama

Malaysia’s Abu Kamal Azrai (centre) tries to snatch the ball from Pakistan’s goalkeeper Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan during their FIH Hockey Nations Cup Group B match. – BERNAMAPIC

Karim vows to end nation’s Olympic drought THE newly appointed president of Malaysia Athletics (MA), Datuk Karim of our athletes have made it to the semifinals of the Olympic Games. We have to break this barrier.

Tokyo Olympics. As part of his bold vision, Karim said MA would also launch a new sprint-focused initiative called “B-10” aimed at developing sprinters capable of breaking the 10-second barrier in the 100m. Currently, only one Malaysian athlete, the national record holder Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi, has shown potential to achieve this feat. “If we can produce two sub-10-second sprinters, I believe we’ll have a real shot in the relay events – and possibly make the Olympic semifinals,” Karim said. In addition to sprinting, MA will also focus on jump events, an area Karim believes holds untapped potential given Malaysia’s available facilities and technical expertise. – Bernama

Ibrahim (pic) , has pledged to end the country’s almost 50-year drought for a field and track athlete to reach the Olympic semifinals. Karim said that several initiatives are already in the pipeline, with a focus on strengthening grassroots development and reviving the national talent identification programme that had previously shown promise. “It has been nearly 50 years since any

“I remain optimistic, but this cannot be achieved without strong backing from the government, state associations and all relevant stakeholders,”he said when met on Sunday. Malaysia last reached the semifinals in athletics at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, when the late Ishtiaq Mubarak qualified for the 110m hurdles. He was the second Malaysian to do so, after Tan Sri Dr. M. Jegathesan in the 200m sprint at the 1964