20/06/2025

FRIDAY | JUNE 20, 2025

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SPORTS

Work in progress Sarjit admits Speedy Tigers not fit against top teams

FOUR professional badminton shuttlers namely world number one men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and mixed doubles duo Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie pledged their commitment to the Road to Gold (RTG) Programme for the 2025 cycle. Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh in a statement said through RTG, they will now receive extensive performance-related support as they aim to not only qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (LA28), but also create history for Malaysia in the United States of America. “RTG has always supported athletes who fulfil the criteria of the programme and we hope this additional support will spur them in their pursuit of excellence this year,”she said on Facebook yesterday. Last week, Hannah announced that eight badminton players including world No. 2 men’s doubles duo Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, top national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah as well as national mixed doubles duo Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have agreed to join the programme. Other athletes joining the programme are weightlifter Mohd Aniq Kasdan and track cyclists Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom as well as S. Sivasangari from squash. Hannah also announced that the national women’s recurve archery trio Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, Syaqiera Mashayikh and Nurul Azreena Fazil as well as squash player Ng Eain Yow have agreed to join the Fast Track RTG programme. The RTG project, introduced by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in April 2023, is a national National pro shuttlers agree to join RTG

RESULTS & STANDINGS

CLUB WORLD CUP Group G: Manchester City 2 (Foden 2, Doku 42) Wydad Casablanca 0, Al Ain 0 Juventus 5 (Kolo Muani 11, 45+4, Yildiz 31, Conceicao 21, 58) . P W D L F A Pts Juventus 1 1 0 0 5 0 3 Man City 1 1 0 0 2 0 3 Wydad 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 Al-Ain 1 0 0 1 0 5 0 Group H: Real Madrid 1 (Gonzalo Garcia 34) Al Hilal 1 (Neves 41-pen) , CF Pachuca 1 (Gonzalez 56) Salzburg 2 (Gloukh 42, Onisiwo 76) . P W D L F A Pts Salzburg 1 1 0 0 2 1 3 Real Madrid 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 Al Hilal 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 Pachuca 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 CONCACAF GOLD CUP Costa Rica 2 Dominican Republic 1, Suriname 0 Mexico 2.

N ATIONAL men’s hockey head coach Sarjit Singh admits that his players’ fitness levels are still well below the standard required to match top Asian sides like South Korea, Japan, and China. While the Speedy Tigers have shown steady improvement from match to match, Sarjit emphasised that his squad is still on a “long journey” toward reaching their peak. “It’s still a long way because our fitness needs to be much, much better. It’s good, but not good enough. Teams like South Korea, Japan, and China aren’t just strong sides; their fitness levels are about three times higher than ours,” he said. “If we can match that, I know our team will be heading in the right direction. Like I’ve said before, we need that experience. It’s very important. The more matches these players get, the better they’ll become,” he told reporters at the National Hockey Stadium in

Bukit Jalil on Wednesday. Malaysia’s hopes of reaching the semifinals of the 2024/25 Men’s FIH Hockey Nations Cup were dashed despite their 2–1 win over Japan. Asked when the team realised there were still gaps in fitness, Sarjit said the issue had been identified early on, which is why the squad travelled to South Korea earlier this year to sharpen their game and gain valuable experience. With a semifinal berth no longer in sight, Sarjit is now fully focused on guiding his team to a fifth-place finish and hopes fans will continue to rally behind the Speedy Tigers. “That’s why I regrouped the boys quickly, to get the focus back. We’re now fully locked in on finishing fifth. We must get that fifth spot.

“We can’t afford to be playing for seventh or eighth, that’s not an option. South Africa will be tough, but if they play the way they’ve been playing, I don’t see why we can’t beat them,” he told reporters. Meanwhile, defender Syed Mohd Syafiq Syed Cholan echoed his coach’s sentiments, saying the team must now shift its attention to rebuilding its world ranking, which has recently slipped two spots to 15th. “We want to push our ranking into the top 11 or 12. We don’t want to slip any further. Since the semifinal target is no longer in reach, we’re now fully focused on improving our world ranking. “We know South Africa is ranked higher than us, so we have to beat them to collect those valuable ranking points,” he said. Malaysia is set to play in the 5th–8th classification match and will take on South Africa this today. The Speedy Tigers are determined to improve on their seventh-place finish at the 2023/24 edition in Poland and end this campaign on a stronger note. – Bernama

SIDENETTING

Fifa hands match bans to Boca players BOCA JUNIORS players Ander Herrera

and Nicolas Figal were handed four-match bans by Fifa after being sent off in their Club World Cup opener against Benfica, a spokesperson for the Argentine club told Reuters yesterday. Boca disagreed with the sanctions imposed on their players after Benfica’s Andrea Belotti received a two-match ban for catching Ayrton Costa in the head with a high boot in the 72nd minute. “We have already contacted Fifa to submit an appeal,” said the club spokesperson. Boca will face Bayern Munich at Hard Rock

initiative aimed at coordinating the country’s efforts to win its first gold medal at the Olympic Games, with a

focus on the Paris 2024 and LA28 editions. – Bernama

Stadium in Miami tomorrow in their second match in Group C.

Malaysia Fitri

Saari (right) in

action with Japan’s Kosei Kawabe. – BERNAMAPIC

Soon Huat (left) and Shevon Lai.

Ticos edge DR on late goal

COSTA RICA overcame an early deficit and broke a second half stalemate with a dramatic Josimar Alcocer goal in the 85th minute to put away the Dominican Republic in Concacaf Gold Cup yesterday in Arlington, Texas. Manfred Ugalde gathered a cross and found Alcocer who chipped the ball over goalkeeper Xavier Valdez. Ugalde then converted a penalty kick in the 44th minute, getting Valdez to guess to the right and burying it toward the left. DEFENDER Cesar Montes doubled his career international scoring tally by connecting on two goals yesterday as Mexico defeated Suriname 2-0 in Arlington, Texas, to clinch a spot in the Gold Cup quarterfinals. Mexico moved ahead of Costa Rica atop Group A thanks to a superior goal differential. The two teams, both assured of quarterfinal berths, will square off on Monday in Las Vegas. Suriname and the Dominican Republic are both eliminated from contention ahead of their head-to head matchup on Monday. Mexico stroll into Gold Cup quarters

Imigresen FC need to find new venue soon: MFL

FAM undecided on Nations Cup participation

SUPER newcomer Imigresen FC have been asked to expedite their search for an official venue for the Malaysia League (M League) competition next season, after their application to use the Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar, Kedah was rejected on Wednesday. Acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the Malaysia Football League (MFL), Mohd Shazli Shaik Mohd, said the matter is important to make it easier for them to complete the competition schedule. “Imigresen FC needs to inform MFL of other venues they can use for next season. “It should be as soon as possible because we are in the final process of preparing the league schedule,” he said when met by reporters after attending the LaLiga Extratime programme yesterday. Earlier, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor informed Imigresen FC that they were not LEAGUE

THERE is still no final word from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) regarding the participation of Harimau Malaya in the 2025 Central Asian Football Association (Cafa) Nations Cup. FAM Competitions Committee deputy chairman Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan said the matter is still under discussion and any decision regarding the matter will be announced later. “If it is good for the national team, then for me it is a good thing that we will participate for the good of foot ball,” he said. He said this when met by the media at the LaLiga Extratime Malaysia programme yesterday. The programme, which is entering its second edition, features two panel sessions that focused on two impor tant topics in Malaysia, namely sports sponsorship and grassroots football. Previously, a post went viral on social media announcing that Malaysia would be participating in the

allowed to register the Darul Aman Stadium as the team’s official home ground. Instead, he suggested that Imigresen FC register the Bandaraya Stadium in Penang as their home ground. Meanwhile, Mohd Shazli said the M-League competition schedule is currently in the final phase and is currently awaiting the date of the Asean Club Championship (ACC) competition and the results of the draw for the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) and AFC Champions League Two (ACL 2) involving two teams, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and Selangor FC. “We are waiting for the date from the AFF (Asean Football Federation). For now, we already have the dates for the ACLE and ACL 2 tournaments. “We just don’t know the date and where JDT and Selangor will play since the draw is scheduled to be held on Aug 15,” he said. – Bernama

championship which will also be attended by Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Meanwhile, Zainal Abidin also said that FAM has not yet made a decision on organising 2025 Pestabola Merdeka following the tight tourna ment schedule involving the national team and the Malaysia League (M Liga) clubs. “There is no decision yet but they (the competition committee) will examine all aspects as best as possible before we organise it (Pestabola Merdeka),” he said. For the record, Pestabola Merdeka was introduced since 1957 and was once called the Grand Old Lady of Asia because it successfully invited famous teams in its previous glory days. Malaysia are the defending cham pion after winning the 43rd edition under Spanish coach Pau Marti Vincente. – Bernama