02/11/2025

theSun on Sunday NOV 2, 2025

SPORTS 15

Ferris, Derron beat heat to lift Ironman titles

hot. “Overall, the course was challeng ing, but I don’t have any plans yet for next year’s Ironman Langkawi,” she said. Australia’s Natalie Van Coevorden, 32, finished second in 4:18:11 while France’s Justine Guerard, 31, was third in 4:22:17. Meanwhile, Shahrom Abdullah, 46, was the fastest Malaysian in the men’s category, completing the gru elling race in 4:42:31 while Chew Huey Ming, was the quickest Malaysian in the women’s event, with a finishing time of 5:31:52. – Bernama

old Derron of Switzerland made sure her last-minute participation, which is also her debut appearance, ended in style as she captured the title in 4:13:52. “I am happy to take the win here in Langkawi, even on short notice. So, I’m glad. I haven’t raced for a while because I was recovering from a crash, so I was nervous, but I’m pleased to have had a good race. “Everything went nicely and smoothly, even though the bike course required climbing hills towards the end, and the run around the airport was long and extremely

humid… this is the hardest race, condi tion-wise, I have ever competed in. “The most brutal discipline is the last 10km of the run at the airport. It’s so lonely, but overall I’m happy with the race, and this year is a pretty (good) season for me. I’ll be coming back next year,” he told reporters. The participants in the professional category had to swim 1.9km, cycle for 90km and run for 21.1km. In the men’s category, Dane Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen, 27, came in second in 3:50:25 while Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk, 31, finished third in 3:55:30. In the women’s category, 29-year

JOSH FERRIS and Julie Derron not only beat the sweltering heat but also their opponents en route to winning the men’s and women’s professional categories at the Ironman 70.3 Langkawi, which ended at the Pelangi Beach Resort and Spa on Friday. Australian Ferris, 24, made his Ironman 70.3 Langkawi debut look easy as he dominated the field to fin ish the race in three hours, 46 minutes and 56 seconds. “Today is a hard day. The weather is so hot, so I needed to drink water to cool myself. “The weather here is much more

Australia’s Josh Ferris. – BERNAMAPIC

Choi tightens grip

High-flying Korean one step away from glory

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SOUTH KOREA’S Choi Hye Jin strengthened her hold at the top of the leaderboard with a six-birdie blitz for a 5 under 67 in the third round of the Maybank Championship 2025 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC) yesterday. Choi, whose only blemish yesterday was a lone bogey on the 16th hole, soared bril liantly with birdies on the third, fourth, 10th, 12th, 14th and 18th holes for a brilliant 19-under 197 three-day total – and a four-stroke lead head ing into today’s final round. The South Korean, who has shown remarkable con sistency to lead the way since the first round on Thursday, admitted to having to deal with her nerves as she seeks to seal the deal. “Actually, I had a lot of chances to win previously, but I didn’t take them. But now that I have played well in the last three days, I’m just looking forward to winning my first LPGA Tour title tomorrow. I’m going to con centrate on my game tomor row. “I’ve been waiting for this (first victory on the LPGA Tour) for a really long time, and I’m going to try my make it come through. I think it will feel like a dream! So,

Malaysian yesterday, holing six-birdies en route to a 4 under 68 score. Kelly, who sizzled with birdies on holes 2, 3, 5, 12, 13 and 14, and faltered with bogeys on holes 8 and 9, is in joint 38th spot with six others with a three-day total of 5 under 211. “It’s fun. I mean, it’s really fun to be able to play golf in front of my family and close friends. I’m mostly playing abroad, and it’s just really nice to have everyone here. “I think everything (worked well). Hit my driver well and hit my irons well. I had six birdies today and 27 putts, so putting was good… scrambling was good (too). “When your game clicks, obviously, you can shoot low (numbers). I think that’s what I did today,” she said. Meanwhile, Mirabel Ting fired a 3-under 70 to sit in joint 45th position at 4 under 212, while Genevieve Ling carded a 2-over 74 for a 1-under 215 total to be tied at 57th spot. Ashley Lau (4-over 76) and Liyana Durisic (3-over 75), the other two Malaysians in the fray, ended the day in tied 67th and 71st posi tions respectively. – Bernama

ing myself this,” said Yan. National golfer Kelly Tan knows she owes it to her fans to finish as high as she possi bly can in the final round of the Maybank Championship today. The 32-year-old looks to have found her form just in time when she emerged as the best-performing

yeah, I’m just looking for ward to it,” she told reporters. Choi, however, is wary of the threat posed by China’s Liu Yan and Australia’s Hannah Green, who are in second and third positions respectively. Yan produced a flawless performance for a bogey-free 7-under 65 to climb into sec ond spot at 15-under 201, while Green fired a 5-under 67 for a three-day total of 14 under 202. Yan credited patience and composure for her impres sive round, noting that the key to her success was embracing the challenging Malaysian weather. “Golf cannot be perfect. This course can be hard because the weather is very hot, but I enjoy the hot weather because I am

1391 2315 0743 6885 5638

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RM7,565,088.79

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Choi Hye-Jin

RM146,006.08

from the south of China. So, even in my hometown, it’s very hot. “Tomorrow, I think I’ll just play like today - be more patient and more

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focused on my game. With the weather this hot… so, yeah, I’ll just keep tell

Fifa need more evidence on heritage players’ scandal

RM11,025,588.60

RM100,000.00

Committee suspended seven players – Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, João Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Arrocha and Héctor Hevel – for 12 months and fined FAM 350,000 Swiss Franc (RM 1.9 million) after ruling that falsi fied heritage documents were used to jus tify their eligibility to represent Malaysia. The controversy has severely dented FAM’s credibility, prompting the suspen sion of its secretary-general and an inter nal probe into the association’s naturalisa tion process. If the appeal fails, Malaysia could face further action from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), including match for feitures for games involving the ineligible players. – scoop.my

cations of this case,” said one source famil iar with the matter. “There are still some discrepancies in the documents that need to be cross-veri fied. While the final decision could go either way, the chances of a full acquittal are very slim.” Another official close to the appeals committee added that Fifa is “keen to ensure that no procedural or administra tive oversight affects the integrity of the ruling.” “They’re not rushing it. Fifa understands the sensitivity of this case – not only for Malaysian football but for how naturalisa tion and eligibility cases are handled across the world moving forward.” In September, Fifa’s Disciplinary

FIFA has yet to finalise the verdict on the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) appeal involving seven national players suspended over alleged document falsifi cation. The decision, initially expected around 7pm Malaysian time today, is now likely to be delayed to 11pm or even tomorrow, as Fifa’s Appeal Committee re-evaluates the evidence and considers possible adjust ments to the sanctions. Sources familiar with the matter told Scoop that the committee has requested additional clarifications on certain ancestry documents submitted by FAM during the appeal process. “The panel is taking a cautious approach because of the scale and impli

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