21/09/2025

theSun on Sunday SEPT 21, 2025

SPORTS 15

Fighting spirit key to TFC win

THE high fighting spirit shown by the players was the main factor behind Terengganu FC’s (TFC) emphatic victory over Melaka FC in their Super League clash at Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium (SSMZA) in Kuala Nerus, Kuala Nerus on Friday night. The Turtles head coach Badrul Afzan Razali said credit should go to his players who managed to collect three valuable points, thus lifting TFC from third to second place in the Super League standings. He said although his team started rather slowly, the players managed to improve their style of play and launched continuous attacks which resulted in four goals in the first half.

Super League with 10 points from five matches. Melaka FC head coach Datuk K. Devan said the weakness in defence and the underperformance of foreign players contributed to the defeat. In addition, the home side’s penalty at the end of the first half had an impact on the spirit and motivation of the players. “Tonight we could see a huge gap in the quality of foreign players between the two teams. We may not be able to match the quality of TFC’s imports with the budget we have. “We also played with 10 men for 65 minutes after Che Rashid Che Halim was shown a red card. We will take this as a lesson to improve our game in the next match,” he said. – Bernama

fighting spirit at home and the attitude of not underestimating the opponent’s threat were among the key factors in TFC’s big win tonight. “Of course, main striker Yan Mabella put on a good performance after recovering from an injury last week. I hope this momentum can be maintained for the next match against Kuala Lumpur City FC (KL City FC),” he said after the post-match press conference. Both teams started off slow until the 26th minute when TFC’s striker Yan Mabella opened the scoring by slotting in a cross from Muhammad Azam Azmi Murad.

Nurillo Nurillo Tikhtasinov then scored TFC’s second in the 33rd minute and a mistake by Melaka FC defender Che Rashid Che Halim, who was sent off for deliberately handed the ball in the penalty box gifted a penalty that was converted by Careca in the 45th minute. But TFC was not done yet, as Mabella then scored his second goal just before halftime. TFC was unable to add to the score during the second half, even with the advantage of an extra man and the match ended with a 4-0 win. With the win, TFC climbs to second in the

Great Wall breached “Congratulations to all the players tonight...credit must go to them. The high

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20/09/2025

NEWLY crowned mixed doubles world champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei produced an amazing performance to oust world No. 1 home pair Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping to storm into the final of the China Masters 2025, yester day. In the semifinal showdown at the Shenzhen Arena, the Malaysian pair dis played grit and composure to outlast the defending champions in a thrilling three-setter, prevailing 22-24, 21-19, 21 17 after 80 minutes. The victory was Tang Jie-Ee Wei’s third in nine encounters against the for midable Chinese pair. “We’re too tired to think right now!” Tang Jie admitted after the exhausting match. “But we are really happy with this result. “The last time we beat them was at the Olympics, and we’ve lost four straight matches since. It feels great to finally turn that around.” Ee Wei added: “Our coach always reminds us to show character on court, and I think we did that today, whether we were trailing or leading. We stayed focused on every point.” It is the first time since its inception in 2005 that the China Masters will crown non-local mixed doubles champions today – a historic moment that ends an extraordinary 18-year streak of domestic dominance after Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran dispatch top seeds Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin 21-17, 22-20. Today’s final offers Tang Jie-Ee Wei a chance to snap their two-match losing

Tang Jie-Ee Wei show true grit to down world No. 1 Chinese pair to book place in final

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National mixed doubles Toh Ee Wei (left) and Chen Tang Jie in action during their semifinal match at the China Masters in Shenzhen yesterday. – AFPPIC

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streak against the Thai pair, who cur rently lead the head-to-head 3-1. Meanwhile, there was no joy for national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah after they went down fighting in a gruelling 88-minute encoun ter against South Korea’s Baek Ha Na– Lee So Hee, losing 21-23, 21-19, 20-22 on Friday night. The result tied their head to-head record at 3-3. “Today’s match was more of a mental

endurance because physically all of us were tired after some gruelling rallies. “Just the mental that kept us holding on the court. In the end we did some thing wrong, we too rushed at match point. That is something we need to dis cuss and improve,” Pearly said in an audio shared by BWF. Thinaah meanwhile, credited the Koreans for showing greater composure towards the end. – Bernama/Agencies or failure in delivering the promised rewards. “To me, this matter is very simple. We don’t need a middleman. If a promise is made, it must be kept. If it cannot be ful filled, then state the reasons and improve from there. There is no need to go as far as banning the athlete,” she said. Yeoh added that KBS would not support any move to suspend or take disciplinary action against Cheah, stressing that it was time to improve the existing governance system. MPM president Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin was reported as say ing that the council would consider legal action against Cheah, following his public statement on social media which allegedly tarnished its credibility and jeopardised future sponsorships. According to Megat, the council would not hesitate to suspend Cheah from par ticipating in future major events. – Bernama

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Emulate RTG programme, Yeoh tells Paralympic Council THE Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) has urged the Paralympic Council Malaysia (MPM) to emulate the Road to Gold (RTG) Committee’s approach in managing spon sorships and athlete rewards to prevent issues such as the one faced by para-ath lete Cheah Liek Hou from recurring. Youth and Sports Skills Training Institute (ILKBS) in Bangi, Selangor yesterday. Earlier, the media reported that Cheah had accused MPM of being “dishonest” on social media for failing to deliver the RM60,000 cash incentive promised to him after winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games.

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Its minister Hannah Yeoh said RTG had taken proactive steps by ensuring all rewards promised by sponsors to athletes were formalised in official contracts before meets began. “During the Paris Olympic Games, many companies offered RM1 million and various rewards if our athletes won a gold medal at the prestigious Games. “What RTG did was to get all these sponsors to sign contracts. I now see a need for the Paralympic Council Malaysia to follow the same approach if they have not already done so,” she said. She said this to reporters after officiating the 20th Convocation Ceremony of the

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The frustration voiced by the national para-badminton ace also drew Yeoh’s attention, who disagreed with the way MPM had handled the matter, particularly by issuing a show-cause letter to Cheah. According to Yeoh, the issue involving Cheah should not have been blown out of proportion or treated as though the athlete had committed a disciplinary offence when he was merely demanding what had been promised. She also stressed that athletes like Cheah had brought glory to the country and should not be penalised simply for expressing disappointment over the delay

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