26/06/2025

SPORTS THURSDAY | JUNE 26, 2025

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Sivasangari crashes out of PSA Tour Finals NATIONAL squash ace S. Sivasangari’s hopes of progressing to the semifinals of the 2024/2025 PSA Squash Tour Finals were dashed after she suffered her second consecutive defeat in Group B on Tuesday. 4 down in the second game but squandered the chance of a win, with too many errors being her undoing as Fayrouz drew level.

RESULTS & STANDINGS

CLUB WORLD CUP Group C: Benfica 1 (Schjelderup 13) Bayern Munich 0, Auckland City 1 (Gray 52) Boca Juniors 1 (Garrow 26-og) . P W D L F A Pts Benfica 3 2 1 0 9 2 7 B. Munich 3 2 0 1 12 2 6 Boca Juniors 3 0 2 1 4 5 2 Auckland 3 0 1 2 1 17 1 Group D: Esperance 0 Chelsea 3 (Adarabioyo 45+3, Delap 45+5, George 90+7) , Los Angeles FC 1 (Bouanga 84) Flamengo 1 (Wallace Yan 86) . P W D L F A Pts Flamengo 3 2 1 0 6 2 7 Chelsea 3 3 0 1 6 3 6 Esperance 3 1 0 2 1 5 3 LAFC 3 0 1 2 1 4 1 QUALIFIED ELIMINATED LAST-16 FIXTURES (all matches at 12.01am Malaysian time) Saturday: Palmeiras vs Botafogo, Benfica vs Chelsea. Sunday: Paris Saint-Germain vs Inter Miami, Flamengo vs Bayern Munich. Aaliyah to lead team at C’ship FRESH from winning three gold medals at the 2025 University World Championships in New Zealand, national waterskiing ace Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah (pic) will lead a team of five athletes to the 2025 IWWF Asian Waterski & Wakesports Championships that will take place at Rabbit Lake in Minburi, Bangkok, from June 24-29. The Malaysian Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) in a statement said that joining Aaliyah are Syahir Nasir in the Open Men’s Slalom event; Aiden Yoong Hanifah and Adam Yoong Hanifah in Slalom, Tricks, and Jump; and Aydan Noah Saisi in the U-14 Wakeboard event. “Aaliyah is the favourite in her three events of slalom, tricks and jump as well as in the overall category,” the statement said. The statement also said Emirul Shahimy Wahab is the team manager with Nordin Saisi the assistant team manager. Three officials of the MWWF have been appointed as technical offi cials to the championships by IWWF. A six-time SEA Games gold medallist, Aaliyah made history as the first Asian woman to win a bronze at the 2022 World Games in Alabama. She also snagged a bronze in the pro women’s overall at the Moomba Masters Championships 2024 in Melbourne. At the 2025 University World Championships, the 21-year-old secured gold in the women’s jump, tricks and was

guaranteeing her spot in the last four regardless of what happens in Sivasangari’s match with Japan’s Satomi Watanabe. “Siva is very dangerous, especially in best of three,” said Fayrouz afterwards as per psasquashtour.com . “You never know when it’s going to go your way, sudden death is very new, but it makes it very exciting. “Best of three is very short and it’s hard to come back. It’s nice to play new tournaments, it makes it more exciting because best of five gets boring at some point with long matches.” – Agencies

The Egyptian – who was a late call-up after the withdrawal of Amina Orfi – had the bit between her teeth at this point and while she was put under pressure by Sivasangari, she was able to find winners when she needed them to emerge victorious. Fayrouz moves up to second in Group B, level on points with USA’s Olivia Weaver, but below her due to virtue of Weaver having a higher percentage of points won. They will meet today, with a win for Fayrouz

The 26-year-old went down to Egypt’s Fayrouz Aboelkheir 11-10, 9-11, 7-11 in a closely fought 41 minute battle at the Revival Film Studio in Toronto, Canada. It was a nip and tuck match throughout, with Sivasangari sneaking the opening game by an 11-10 sudden death scoreline. The Kedah-born player then fought back from 8

Cafa test for Harimau Malaya Participation opportunity to cultivate big game mentality, says sports analyst

M ALAYSIA’S participation in the 2025 Central Asian Football Association (Cafa) Nations Cup in Uzbekistan this August is seen as an opportunity to sharpen the Harimau Malaya squad’s “big match mentality”. Local football expert and analyst Assoc Prof Dr Mohamad Nizam Nazarudin said the participation is not merely an invitation, but a high-level competitive arena that will com prehensively test Harimau Malaya’s (national team’s) physical endurance and mental resil ience. The former Head of Sports Science and Performance Analyst of Sabah FC said the challenges awaiting national head coach Peter Cklamovski’s men are real and complex, with two Asian giants – Iran and Uzbekistan –

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“Thus, the Cafa Nations Cup can be seen as an exclusive platform to cultivate a ‘big game mentality’ – the kind of tournament mindset that maintains focus, confidence, and tactical ability under maximum pres sure,” he told Bernama . The senior lecturer in Sports and Recreation at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), said the main difference between top-tier Asian football and Southeast Asian football lies in the higher tempo of play, consistent physical intensity and the ability to attack and defend with rapid transitions in repeated phases. “Teams like Iran operate with a ‘high pressing and fast recovery’ approach, which not only tests physical endurance but also the cognitive ability of players to make deci sions in very limited time and space. “Uzbekistan, on the other hand, are known for their clear tactical structure and speed in combination play – a form of threat that cannot be neutralised without peak car diovascular fitness and dynamic tactical lit eracy,” he said. Meanwhile, another local football ana lyst, Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli, believes that participation in the tournament could serve as a benchmark for the national team’s strength, especially after their 4-0 thrashing of Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign held here earlier this month. “We need to prove that we are no longer ‘kampung champions’ and are ready to spread our wings and fly higher, on par with teams like Iran and Uzbekistan, who have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, as well as Oman. “This tournament can train Harimau Malaya players to strengthen their ‘big game mentality’ and improve their high-intensity tempo,” he said. In addition to Iran, ranked 18th in the world, and Uzbekistan (57) and Malaysia (131), the tournament will also feature Oman (77), Kyrgyzstan (103), Tajikistan (104), Turkmenistan (142), and Afghanistan (160). – Bernama The players will join 11 existing players in the National U-23 squad, including Zulhilmi Sharani and Muhammad Faris Danish Mohd Asrul from Johor Darul Ta’zim II (JDT II) as well as Abdul Rahman Daud and Muhammad Alif Izwan Yuslan from Selangor FC. Meanwhile, Nafuzi hopes the players called up, who pack the average experience of Super League action, can help the squad realise that target. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals scheduled for July 25, while the third-place match and final will take place on July 29. – Bernama

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having already quali fied for the 2026 World Cup. “Realistically, the performance gap between Malaysia and these opponents lies not only in the technical aspects of the game but also, more deeply, in the psychological dimension – the ability to per

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f o r m fearlessly in high p r o f i l e matches. “Statistics and previous match history

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show that Harimau Malaya often struggle when facing teams with the status of ‘Asian powerhouses’,” he said.

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overall champion. – Bernama/ Agencies

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Young Tigers target semifinal spot at AFF Cup THE National Under-23 football squad are targeting to advance to the semifinals of the 2025 Asean Football Federation (AFF) U-23 Cup tournament to be held in Jakarta, from July 15 to 29. with the crucial match against the Philippines,” he told a press conference in Petaling Jaya yesterday to announce the list of 30 players picked for centralised training.

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“After that, we face Brunei and the toughest challenge will be up against hosts Indonesia. “So we are aiming to qualify for the semifinals but have to get through the group stage first. The semifinals will give us space to scheme and reach the final.” Nineteen of the 26 players who were gathered after the Elite Games match yesterday were called to join the camp which will start on July 1.

Head coach Mohd Nafuzi Zain said that to realise this ambition, the Harimau Muda squad are required to gain three full points in each match of the Group A competition against the Philippines on July 15, followed by Brunei (July 18), before closing the group stage against Indonesia (July 21). “For the current situation, we are more focused on game by game, especially starting

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