06/09/2025

SPORTS SATURDAY | SEPT 6, 2025

31

‘Narrow win highlights areas for improvement’

RESULTS

WORLD CUP QUALIFIER S EUROPE

N ATIO N AL football squad head coach Peter Cklamovski described the narrow 2-1 victory over traditional rivals Singapore in a Tier 1 international friendly as a valuable lesson for the Harimau Malaya squad ahead of their upcoming matches. The Australian coach praised his team’s performance but stressed that there were still many areas for improvement after they allowed the opponent to reduce the deficit. “No game is easy and we felt that tonight. We respect the opposition and we learned a lot of lessons that we can take with us for the

“Performance-wise, we were not calm at certain moments while they had good quality upfront,” he added. Lee said the players were disappointed with the result as they usually play to win. “We always play to win, and we definitely wanted to win but in terms of the process, the performance that we put out there, there were quite a lot of good phases. “But I think unfortunately, we weren’t calm enough in the critical moment and I think that’s a consequence of us not trusting ourselves more.” – Bernama/Agencies

next game,” he said at a press conference after the match at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. “But it’s good to get the win and overall, there are a lot of positives, although there are some things that need to be improved,” he added. Meanwhile, Singapore head coach Gavin Lee admitted that Malaysia showed higher quality than his team in the match. “We were expecting a difficult game from them and it’s a good lesson for us to fight for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers next month.

GROUP A: S lovakia 2 (Hancko 42, Strelec 55) Germany 0, Luxembourg 1 (Dardari 30) N orthern Ireland 3 (Reid 7,Charles 46, Devenny 69). GROUP E: Georgia 2 (Davitashvili 63, Kvaratskhelia 90+8) Turkey 3 (Muldur 3, Akturkoglu 41, 52), B ulgaria 0 S pain 3 (Oyarzabal 5, Cucurella 30, Merino 38) . GROUP G: Lithuania 1 (Gineitis 90+7-pen) Malta 1 (Satariano 83), N etherlands 1 (Dumfries 28) Poland 1 (Cash 80). GROUP J: Kazakhstan 0 Wales 1 (Moore 24) , Liech tenstein 0 B elgium 6 (De Cuyper 29, Tielemans 46, 70-pen, Theate 60, De Bruyne 62, Fofana 90+1). COMME B OL: Argentina 3 Venezuela 0, Colombia 3 Bolivia 0, Paraguay 0 Ecuador 0, Uruguay 3 Peru 0. AFRICA GROUP A: Guinea-Bissau 1 Sierra Leone 1. GROUP D: Mauritius 0 Cape Verde 2, Angola 0 Libya 1, Cameroon 3 Eswatini 0. GROUP G: Algeria 3 Botswana 1. GROUP H: Sao Tome e Principe 2 Equatorial Guinea 3, Tunisia 3 Liberia 0. Group I: Chad 1 Ghana 1, Madagascar 2 Central Afri BRIEFS Shin Peng grabs first wushu gold S I S HI N PE N G delivered Malaysia’s first gold at the 17th World Wushu Championships in Brasilia, Brazil, yesterday when he triumphed in the men’s Qiangshu event. According to a statement from the Malaysian Wushu Federation, Shin Peng collected 9.756pts to edge out his closest rival from Macau, Chi Hin Kuong, by just 0.013 points. The bronze went to Motoyoshi Araki of Japan, who scored 9.740 points. Earlier, the Malaysian camp also bagged a silver in the women’s Nandao event through Tan Cheong Min and a bronze in the women’s Gunshu event through Lee Jia Rong. The eight-day competition will conclude this tomorrow. Sivasangari, Eain Yow into quarterfinals DEFE N DI N G champion S. Sivasangari stormed into the quarterfinals of the London Squash Classic by defeating Hong Kong’s Tomato Ho in the second round on Thursday night. The Asian Games 2022 champion took just 23 minutes to beat her opponent 11-7, 12-10 in the PSA World Tour Gold event at Alexandra Palace, London. The world No. 8 will face home representative Jasmine Hutton in the last eight. In the men’s category, Ng Eain Yow also qualified for the quarterfinals after coming from behind to beat Qatar’s Abdulla Mohd Al-Tamimi 8 11, 12-10, 11-9. The world No. 12 will next play the fifth-ranked Mohamed El Shorbagy of England. Presidents expected to serve full term: FAM THE Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has emphasised that the election of its president has always been based on the expectation that the individual chosen will serve until the end of the term. Acting FAM president Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi said this principle has been the main consideration during each election process, but at the same time he did not rule out the possibility of unforeseen circumstances. “It is simple, when we elect someone (as president), at the very least we want their term to last until the end. But if something happens during the process, that is beyond our expectations. No one in the association wants such things to happen (ending early). We must elect the person with good intentions and that person too must want to complete their term,” he told a press conference after chairing the Fourth FAM Executive Committee Meeting for the 2025 2029 term at Wisma FAM, Kelana Jaya, Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. He was commenting on Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh’s suggestion that FAM choose a president who can serve a long tenure for leadership continuity in the association. can Republic 0, Mali 3 Comoros 0. CO N CACAF: Suriname 0 Panama 0.

Cools hails winning culture … as Harimau Malaya defeat S’pore in first ‘Causeway Derby’ win for Cklamovski M ALAYSIA maintained its unbeaten record under head coach Peter Cklamovski after defeating traditional rivals the things we can still work on as a team,” said the Cerezo Osaka player. Nazmi Faiz Mansor, who had to be stretchered off due to an injury in the 60th minute and was replaced by Sergio Aguero. Wilkin was also later rested, making way for Quentin Cheng.

Malaysia got off to a good start when sensational winger Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi nearly opened the scoring in the fifth minute, but his shot from inside the penalty box was saved by the visiting goalkeeper Mohamad Izwan Mahbud, who was again brilliant in denying a close-range attempt from Stuart Wilkin four minutes later. The Harimau Malaya dominance finally paid off in the 26th minute when Wilkin converted a lofted pass from Endrick dos Santos with a powerful close-range shot, beating Mohamad Izwan. Malaysia’s energetic performance in the first half also highlighted the strong attacking partnership between Joao Figueiredo and Endrick. Entering the second half, the national team, ranked 125th in the world, continued its aggressive pursuit of an additional goal before successfully scoring again when a cross from the right by Wilkin was calmly finished by Figueiredo in the 55th minute. H o w e v e r ,

Singapore 2-1 in a Tier 1 international friendly match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday night. In his first “Causeway Derby”, Cklamovski made four changes to the starting lineup that had defeated Vietnam 4-0 in a 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers match last June. Skipper Dion Cools said although Harimau Malaya failed to keep a clean sheet, the victory reflected a growing winning mentality within the squad and provided a solid base for further improvement. “I think we can still improve in some aspects. I think everybody can see that. The most important thing is that we created a winning culture,” he said after the match. “Too bad we couldn’t score more goals, too bad we couldn’t keep a clean sheet. But in general, I think there’s a good foundation and we try to keep building for the next game.” Cools emphasised that efficiency in front of goal and sharper high-pressing would be crucial areas for improvement as Malaysia look ahead to their next outing against Palestine at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri in Johor on Monday. “Be more efficient in the box, try to get up pressing maybe a bit better… I think these are

Quentin nearly scored with his first touch, but his powerful shot in the 65th minute went straight to Mohamad Izwan. Singapore, who were more organised after making player substitutions, managed to narrow the gap through substitute striker Ilhan Fandi, who unleashed a beautiful shot from outside the penalty box to beat Muhammad Haziq Nadzli in the 72nd minute. Stunned by the goal, Malaysia redoubled their attacks, with the best chance coming in the 81st minute when substitute striker Romel Morales fired a powerful shot, but Mohamad Izwan was once again excellent in goal, and the 2-1 score remained until the final whistle.

For the record, Malaysia under Cklamovski’s guidance remains undefeated in competitive matches, with a record of two wins and one draw in his first three games since being appointed early this year. – Bernama

Malaysia’s joy was slightly marred by the loss of midfielder

Singapore’s Irfan Fandi (top) heads the ball against Malaysia’s Facundo Garces (left) and La’Vere Lawrence Corbin-Ong during their international friendly match. – AFPPIC

Solutions Tech get three WorldTeam riders for LTdL 2025 THREE former WorldTeam riders will bolster the challenge of the Italian ProTeam, Solution Tech Vini Fantini at the eight-day Le Tour de Langkawi 2025 (LTdL) scheduled to kickoff on Sept 28. Corratec riders from LTdL22 provides a balance that will allow them to challenge for either stage wins or the overall individual green jersey. “We often see ProTeams and Continental Teams give tough competition to the elite WorldTeams at LTdL and based on their individual strengths, Solution Tech looks like one of the teams capable of providing the challenge this year.

time trial champion, has secured 11 stage wins this year alone and is seen as a contender for the Orange Jersey for King of Sprints. He is expected to be assisted by his compatriot, Djordje Djuric, 25, and 28-year-old Italian rider Attilio Viviani, who also competed in PLTdL22, particularly as the peloton approaches the finish line on the six flat stages of LTdL25. The three riders who will challenge for the overall individual classification are Balmer, Fabbro and Allesandro Iacchi, who competed with Corratec in PLTdL22. “Fabbro has ridden in five Grand Tours, while Iacchi has also competed at the Giro d’Italia once. Balmer, who is considered a one-day race specialist, is expected to choose Stage 3 and Stage 8 to showcase his skills,” Emir added. – National Sports Council

Previously known as Team Corratec and having competed in the LTdL2022, the team’s riders are no strangers to Asian races, having accumulated many victories. This showed that the issue of extreme hot weather will not be a major problem for the team. Leading Solution Tech’s charge will be three experienced riders who have previously competed with WorldTeams - Alexandre Balmer (formerly of Jayco-AIUla), Matteo Fabbro (Bora-Hansgrohe) and sprint specialist Dusan Rajovic (Bahrain-Victorious). According to LTDL Chief Operating Officer, Emir Abdul Jalal, the combination of these three experienced riders and two original

“Majority of the riders they are sending are those who frequently raced in Asia and have achieved numerous successes over the past few years,” Emir said in a statement yesterday. A rider who will certainly attract attention is the 27-year-old Serbian sprint specialist, Rajovic, who has collected 18 professional wins, including being crowned King of Sprints at this year’s Tour of Sharjah, Istrian Spring Tour, Tour de Kumano and Trans-Himalaya Cycling Race. Rajovic, who is also the Serbian national