21/08/2025

SPORTS THURSDAY | AUG 21, 2025

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McIlroy backs ‘clean slate’ Tour Championship format not settled,

Weary Swiatek wins US Open mixed doubles opener

IGA SWIATEK shrugged off weariness to partner Casper Ruud to an opening victory in the revamped mixed doubles competition at the US Open yesterday. Swiatek and Ruud needed just 39 minutes to dispatch the US pairing of Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe 4-1, 4-2 in blazing sunshine at Flushing Meadows’ Arthur Ashe Stadium main court. The victory capped a gruelling 24 hours for Polish star Swiatek, who battled to her first Cincinnati Open title in a near two-hour win over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini. Swiatek then hot-footed it to the airport for a flight to New York before appearing in yesterday’s doubles opener. “Honestly the last two days have felt like one day, but I’m super happy to be here,” Swiatek admitted after the doubles win. Ruud and Swiatek had just enough time to fit in a quick practice before taking to the court in their first match as a doubles pairing. “I was happy to team up with Iga,” Ruud said afterwards. “She’s on the winning train these days so I’m just jumping on the train and let’s see if we can win some more before the mixed doubles is over.” Swiatek and Ruud barely had time to

cool down from their opening win before returning to the court to face Caty McNally and Lorenzo Musetti in their quarterfinal clash. McNally and Musetti had progressed to the last eight earlier after taking care of Naomi Osaka and Gael Monfils 5-3, 4-2. In other early results, US tennis icon Venus Williams and partner Reilly Opelka exited against Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev, losing 4-2, 5-4. Italy’s reigning champions Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani ousted second seeds Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz 4-2, 4-2. This year’s format saw eight entries based on the combined singles rankings of players and eight wild cards, a move that left some doubles competitors fuming but succeeded in bringing a sellout crowd to Arthur Ashe Stadium. “The tactics in doubles are very important. They are amazing players, we all know that, but in doubles I think also the combination of the two players, we know each other so well, we are playing a lot of tournaments together,” said Vavassori. “We’re also playing for all the doubles players that could not be here, so we tried to do our best.” – AFP

match play was discussed

A T LEAST for this year, the 30 players who advanced to the Tour Championship this week in Atlanta are starting from scratch. No FedEx Cup points were car ried over, and no player will get a head start over any other. Asked yesterday if getting rid of the “starting strokes” arrangement left the PGA Tour with the “best format” for its season championship, Rory McIlroy merely said it’s the format they have for this week. “I’m maybe part of the minority. I didn’t hate the starting strokes,” Northern Ireland’s McIlroy told reporters at East Lake Golf Club. “I thought that the player that played the best during the course of the season should have had an advantage coming in here. But the majority of people just didn’t like the starting strokes.” McIlroy sat on the player advisory committee that sorted out what to do about the often confusing Tour Championship format. In May, the tour announced that it was eliminating starting strokes, calling the move “an important first step in the evolution of our postseason.” McIlroy said it was done with the fans in mind, though he also can hear the argument that Scottie

Scheffler, who finished the points race a runaway No. 1, may deserve more than a two-stroke head start as he’s gotten in years prior. Then McIlroy revealed that the PAC discussed match play among its several options to further evolve the Tour Championship. “Look, there was a lot of other stuff on the table. Match play was on the table, and that got canned for this year,” McIlroy said. “That might be brought back up in the conversation for next year or the year after. “I think it’s just hard for the players to reconcile that we play stroke play for every week of the year but then the season-ending tournament is going to be decided by match play. I think it was just hard for the players to get their heads around that.” The PGA Tour had one official match-play event from 1999-2023, after which the WGC Match Play was squeezed off the schedule. Golf Digest yesterday laid out a mock match play bracket that would give the top eight seeds, including Scheffler and No. 2 McIlroy, a first round bye as a reward for their season-long excellence, not unlike first-round byes for top seeds in the NFL playoffs. – Field Level Media

Sinner withdraws from US Open

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Notices

Notices

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WORLD NO. 1 Jannik Sinner, who was forced to retire during the final of the Cincinnati Open, and playing partner Katerina Siniakova have withdrawn from the US Open mixed doubles draw, tournament organisers confirmed yester. “Jannik Sinner and Katerina Siniakova have withdrawn from the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship,” read a statement on the US Open website. “The withdrawal comes after Sinner was forced to retired due to illness during the Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz on Monday.” The 24-year-old was forced to concede defeat to great rival Alcaraz after going 5-0 down in the first set of the Cincinnati final due to an illness which struck on the eve of the match. “I’m disappointed, I didn’t feel great from yesterday,” Sinner said on court.” DONALD TRUMP’S famed Trump National Doral course will host a PGA Tour event next season, returning to the circuit after a 10-year absence, the tour confirmed yesterday. Doral’s “Blue Monster” was a regular stop on the PGA circuit for more than half a century, hosting a tournament annually from 1962 to 2016, when it staged the WGC-Cadillac Championship. However, the tournament was moved from Doral after sponsor Cadillac decided not to renew its sponsorship and a replacement sponsor could not be found. Doral has since hosted a stop on the Saudi Arabia-financed LIV Golf circuit. As of next season, however, the course will stage The Miami Championship, which will become one of the PGA Tour’s nine signature events. “During the night, I thought I would recover a bit better, but it was not the case.” Trump course back on PGA schedule

DALAM MAHKAMAH MAJISTRET DI PETALING JAYA DALAM NEGERI SELANGOR DARUL EHSAN, MALAYSIA GUAMAN SIVIL NO: BB-A72NCvC-620-07/2025

IN THE HIGH COURT OF MALAYA AT PENANG COMPANIES (WINDING-UP) No. PA-28NCC-119-07/2025 In the matter of Section 465 Companies Act, 2016 And In The Matter of Companies (Winding-Up) Rules And In the matter of Sheng Tai Impression Sdn Bhd [No. 201801000492(1262505W)] BETWEEN PIPEWAY ENGINEERING SDN BHD [No: 897553-W] - PETITIONER AND SHENG TAI IMPRESSION SDN BHD [No. Syarikat: 201801000492 (1262505-W)] - RESPONDENT ADVERTISEMENT OF PETITION Notice is hereby given that a Petition for the winding-Up of the abovenamed company by the High Court was on 24.7.2025 presented by Pipeway Engineering Sdn Bhd (No. 897553-W) and that the said Petition is directed to be heard before the Court sitting in Penang at 9.00 in the morning, on the 2nd day of October 2025; and any creditor or contributory of the said company desiring to support or oppose the making of an Order on the said Petition may appear at the time of hearing by himself or his counsel for the purpose; and a copy of the Petition will be furnished to any creditor or contributory of the said company requiring the same by the undersigned on payment of the regulated charge for the same. The Petitioner business address is at No. 15 Lorong Batu Lanchang, 11600 Penang. The Petitioner’s Solicitors is Messrs Sunny Khoo & Company at No. 2D-1-2 Medan Angsana Satu, Bandar Baru Air Itam, 11500 Penang. Dated this 11th day of August 2025 Sgd Messrs Sunny Khoo & Company Solicitors for the Petitioner NOTE:- Any person who intends to appear on the hearing of the said Petition must serve on or send by post to the abovenamed Petitioner’s Solicitors, notice so to do. The Notice must state the name and address of the person, or, if a firm, the name and address of the firm, and must be signed by the person or firm,or his or their Solicitors (if any) and must be served, or, if posted, must be sent by post in sufficient time to reach the abovenamed not later than twelve o’clock noon of the 1st day of October 2025. [Ref:PWE(sti)/614/25/ Lit/SK]

ANTARA

PAJAK GADAI KOTA DAMANSARA SDN. BHD. [No. Syarikat: 201401009560 (1085639-P)] … PLAINTIF

DAN

NUR SHAZLIN HAZWANI BINTI MOHD SHAMSUDDIN (No. K/P: 010823-10-1240) … DEFENDAN

Shubman Gill in action. – REUTERSPIC

NOTIS PENYAMPAIAN GANTI

Kepada: NUR SHAZLIN HAZWANI BINTI MOHD SHAMSUDDIN 1-4-13, Gugusan Siantan, Jalan Sepah Puteri 5/7 Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor AMBIL PERHATIAN bahawa satu Writ dan Pernyataan Tuntutan telah diisu oleh PAJAK GADAI KOTA DAMANSARA SDN. BHD. dan pada 11 Ogos 2025,Mahkamah Majistret Petaling Jaya telah memerintahkan bahawa Writ dan Pernyataan Tuntutan bertarikh 4 Julai 2025 hendaklah disampaikan kepada anda secara penyampaian ganti melalui penampalan sesalinan Writ dan Pernyataan Tuntutan tersebut berserta Perintah Penyampaian Ganti di atas papan notis Mahkamah Majistret Petaling Jaya dan secara penampalan di alamat anda seperti di atas dan juga menerbitkan sekali Notis ini dalam akhbar tempatan dan penyampaian sedemikian hendaklah menjadi penyampaian yang sempurna ke atas anda (7) hari selepas tarikh terakhir penyampaian itu. t.t. .……………………………… Penolong Kanan Pendaftar Mahkamah Rendah Petaling Jaya Notis ini dikeluarkan oleh Tetuan SS Ng & Lim, peguamcara Plaintif, yang beralamat penyampaian di P-04-05,Impian Meridian,Jalan Subang 1,USJ 1,47600 Subang Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Bertarikh pada 21 Ogos 2025

Gill returns to India’s T20 squad TEST skipper Shubman Gill was yesterday named in India’s T20 squad for next month’s Asia Cup cricket tournament after being left out of three previous series in the shortest format. Gill, 25, returned to the 15-man squad as deputy to skipper Suryakumar Yadav, thanks to the stellar role he played with the bat in the recent Test series against England. The top-order batsman scored 754 runs as India’s relatively young squad fought from behind to square the five-match series 2-2. The eight-nation Asia Cup will be the first major event in the build-up to next year’s T20 World Cup in India in February and March. “We obviously see some leadership qualities in him (Gill),” chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said in Mumbai. “His form in England … exceeded our expectations which is a great sign when there’s so much pressure as captain.” Suryakumar said he was happy to have Gill in the squad as he did not get too many opportunities in the past. The Asia Cup will begin on Sept 9 with defending champions India set to face hosts United Arab Emirates a day later in Dubai in the eight-nation tournament. India and arch-rivals Pakistan have been clubbed in Group A and clash on Sept 14.

Jannik Sinner returns a shot during the Cincannati Open. – REUTERSPIC

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