22/09/2025

SPORTS MONDAY | SEPT 22, 2025

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Malaysia to field top athletes for SEA Games THE National Sports Council (NSC) has stressed there is no issue if national sports associations field their top athletes at the Thailand SEA Games 2025 as Malaysia indeed intends to send its strongest contingent. because we’re preparing for 2027,” he told reporters when met at NSC today.

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Brighton 2 (Minteh 8, Ayari 31) Tottenham 2 (Richarlison 43, Van Hecke 82-og) , Burnley 1 (Anthony 20) Nottingham Forest 1 (Williams 2) , Fulham 3 (Iwobi 38, Wilson 40, Pinnock 50-og) Brentford 1 (Damsgaard 20) , Liverpool 2 (Gravenberch 10, Ekitike 29) Everton 1 (Gueye 58) , Manchester United 2 (Fernandes 14, Casemiro 37) Chelsea 1 (Chalobah 80) , West Ham 1 (Bowen 49) Crystal Palace 2 (Mateta 37, Mitchell 68) , Wolves 1 ( Krejci 8) Leeds 3 (Calvert-Lewin 31, Stach 39, Okafor 45) . P W D L F A Pts Liverpool 5 5 0 0 11 5 15 Tottenham 5 3 1 1 10 3 10 Arsenal 4 3 0 1 9 1 9 Crystal Palace 5 2 3 0 6 2 9 Bournemouth 4 3 0 1 6 5 9 Chelsea 5 2 2 1 10 5 8 Fulham 5 2 2 1 6 5 8 Sunderland 4 2 1 1 5 3 7 Everton 5 2 1 2 6 5 7 Man Utd 5 2 1 2 6 8 7 Leeds 5 2 1 2 4 7 7 Man City 4 2 0 2 8 4 6 Newcastle 4 1 2 1 3 3 5 Brighton 5 1 2 2 6 8 5 Nottm Forest 5 1 2 2 5 9 5 Burnley 5 1 1 3 5 8 4 Brentford 5 1 1 3 6 10 4 West Ham 5 1 0 4 5 13 3 Aston Villa 4 0 2 2 0 4 2 Wolves 5 0 0 5 3 12 0 CHAMPIONSHIP Birmingham 1 Swansea 0, Leicester 0 Coventry 0, Queens Park Rangers 1 Stoke City 0, Blackburn Rovers 1 Ipswich Town 0 (play suspended due to heavy rain) , Derby 0 Preston North End 1, Hull City 3 Southampton 1, Norwich 2 Wrexham 3, Portsmouth 0 Sheffield Wednesday 2, Sheffield United 0 Charlton Athletic 1. (Top 5) P W D L F A Pts M.brough 6 5 1 0 11 4 16 Stoke 6 4 0 2 9 4 12 Bristol City 5 3 2 0 12 4 11 Leicester 6 3 2 1 8 5 11 Preston 6 3 2 1 7 5 1 LA LIGA Girona 0 Levante 4 (Eyong 43, Alvarez 49, Romero 70, Kouyalipou 90+2) , Real Madrid 2 (Militao 22, Mbappe 47) Espanyol 0, Villarreal 2 (Mikautadze 69, Gueye 85) Osasuna 1 (Budimir 45+6-pen) , Alaves 1 (Vicente 17-pen) Sevilla 2 (Vargas 10, Sanchez 67) , Valencia 2 (Santamaria 73, Duro 90+3) Athletic Bilbao 0. (Top 5) P W D L F A Pts Real Madrid 5 5 0 0 10 2 15 Barcelona 4 3 1 0 13 3 10 Villarreal 5 3 1 1 10 4 10 Espanyol 5 3 1 1 8 7 10 Real Betis 6 2 3 1 9 7 9 SERIE A Bologna 2 (Castro 73, Orsolini 90+9 pen) Genoa 1 (Ellertsson 63) , Verona 1 (Orban 44-pen) Juventus 1 (Conceicao 19) , Udinese 0 AC Milan 3 (Pulisic 40, 53, Fofana 46) . (Top 5) P W D L F A Pts Juventus 4 3 1 0 8 4 10 AC Milan 4 3 0 1 7 2 9 Napoli 3 3 0 0 6 1 9 Cagliari 4 2 1 1 5 3 7 Cremonese 3 2 1 0 5 3 7 FRENCH LIGUE 1 Nantes 2 Rennes 2, Brest 4 Nice 1, Lens 3 Lille 0. (Top 5) P W D L F A Pts Paris SG 4 4 0 0 10 3 12 Lyon 5 4 0 1 7 3 12 Lille 5 3 1 1 13 8 10 Lens 5 3 0 2 8 5 9 Monaco 4 3 0 1 8 5 9

2023 Cambodia edition, which featured many local traditional sports. “Don’t forget in Cambodia, the sports contested were traditional ones in which we had no strength or experience. “But this time Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to contest Olympic and Asian-level sports. “For example, squash, lawn bowls, and bowling will be contested. “So we hope this will provide us with opportunities,” he said. The Thailand SEA Games 2025 will be held from Dec 9 to 20. – Bernama

He said the NSC had held several rounds of discussions with sports associations before the submission of the athletes’ list to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), which closed on Sept 1. “Any association that has registered, I believe they have registered their best athletes. For example, badminton and bowling, which have World Championship titles just 10 days earlier, will also send their strongest teams to this SEA Games,” he said. Commenting on medal targets, Jefri explained that Malaysia has a better chance compared to the

NSC director-general Jefri Ngadirin said the move is also part of preparations for the 2027 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, when Malaysia will host the Games. “In 2022 in Vietnam, we sent 52% young athletes, then Cambodia was their second outing and now this will be their third. So, they already have experience competing at the SEA Games level. “We will send the best. We try to be the best

A bridge too far Tang Jie-Ee Wei denied

China Masters glory by Thai pair

N EWLY-CROWNED world mixed doubles champions Chen Tang Jie Toh Ee Wei were denied the China Masters 2025 title after losing to Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh Supissara Paewsampran in the final yesterday. In the showdown at the Shenzhen Arena, the Malaysian pair went down 8-21, 17-21 in just 35 minutes. It was their third defeat in four encounters against the Thai combination and this is their first-ever super 750 final with a runner up finish. The world No. 3 had been aiming to become the first Malaysians to win the tournament since its inception in 2005, and the first non-Chinese mixed doubles champions after nearly two decades of dominance.

fourth Malaysian finalists at the event, after Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah (2005), Wong Choong Hann (2006) and Hoo Pang Ron Cheng Su Yin (2024). Ee Wei said there was no excuse for the defeat, admitting their tactics did not work. “About this, I injured my back sometime ago but then when we go into the court, we got no excuse. “So just I think our technique on the court today didn’t work. Yeah, that’s the main problem,” she said through an audio recording by BWF . She also stressed that despite being world champions, they still have a lot to learn from other top players. Meanwhile, Tang Jie said they were relieved to complete the match safely. “Yeah, we are glad that we can finish the match with safe bodies. We really appreciate that God gives us the strength to finish the match without further problems, so right now we just try to recover fast and prepare for upcoming tournaments,” he said. The defeat snapped their nine

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The Thais, who have already bagged the Singapore Open, Malaysia Open and Thailand Masters this season, underlined their credentials with another commanding performance. Still, it was a defining week

RM3,460,473.00

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match unbeaten run since winning the World Championships in Paris last month.– Bernama/Agencies

for Tang Jie-Ee Wei as they became only the

RM659,478.92

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Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie (left) and Toh Ee Wei play a point during their mixed doubles match in the China Masters. – AFPPIC

No suspension for Liek Hou, says Yeoh THE Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) has confirmed that national para-badminton ace Cheah Liek Hou has not been suspended following the recent dispute over reward claims for para-athletes.

RM10,138,832.54

She said it is time for everyone to move on so that athletes can give their full focus to training and competition. Yeoh also expressed appreciation to private sector contributors who came forward to top up MPM’s rewards for Malaysia’s five Paris 2024 Paralympic medallists. Media reports cited that the athlete had accused MPM on social media of being a “scammer” for not paying him the RM60,000 cash incentive promised after he won a gold medal at the 2024 Paralympics. The national para-badminton star’s complaint also drew Yeoh’s attention, as she disagreed with MPM’s move to issue him a show-cause letter, saying that Liek Hou had not breached any code of conduct, only demanding what was promised to him a year after winning his gold medal in Paris, France. – Bernama

RM100,000.00

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Minister Hannah Yeoh stated yesterday that the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (MPM) will also seek clarification from the athlete regarding the misunderstanding surrounding the use of the term “scam.” “On the matter of para-athletes’ reward claims involving Liek Hou, MPM, and I have agreed that he will not face any suspension. “MPM will also seek clarification from him on the misunderstanding over the term ‘scam’. “From now on, all reward claims will come with a written template, similar to the Road To Gold format, to make the process clearer and more transparent,” she said in a Facebook post.

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