04/11/2025

SPORTS TUESDAY | NOV 4, 2025

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finishing 41st in the vault and 93rd in the pommel horse events. Apart from those two events, the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games bronze medallist will also compete in the floor exercise at this year’s SEA Games. At the same time, he hopes to return home with a more remarkable success at the 2025 SEA Games after helping Malaysia clinch the men’s all-around team bronze medal in Phnom Penh. The 2025 Thailand SEA Games are scheduled to be held from Dec 9 to 20 across three provinces – Bangkok, Chonburi, and Songkhla. Ong, Imran take top spots at Asean Amateur Open THE Bridgestone Asean Amateur Open 2025 has officially concluded its exciting 12-leg season with a spectacular Grand Final at the Templer Park Country Club championship course, where cham pions from each tournament leg gathered to com pete for top honours in one of the region’s most established amateur golf series. After an intense

day on the fairways under the sweltering after noon heat on Saturday, Ong Pok Wen was crowned Nett Champion, a remarkable achieve ment as he was also the Nett Champion during the Templer Park qualifying leg held earlier on July 11. Imran Marzuki delivered an impressive per formance to secure the title of Gross Champion, finishing the day with a strong score of 77, thus continuing the momentum from his earlier Gross title triumph at the IOI Palm Villa Golf & Country Resort leg, which served as the final stop before the Grand Final. Now in its ninth year, the tourna ment continues to expand its reach and impact across the region. “From Malaysia to Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, India and beyond, this tour has brought together passionate golfers who share a love for competition, integrity, and fellowship,” said Vasudevan Krishnan, managing director of Prestige Golf Sdn Bhd. “As we look forward to cele brating our 10th anniversary next year, we are committed to making this tournament bigger, better, and even more engaging for the regional golfing community.”

BRIEFS

RESULTS & STANDINGS

Race against time for Muhammad Sharul

ARSENAL won their fifth successive Premier League match to finish the weekend with a six-point cush ion at the top of the table as Liverpool ended their miserable losing run. Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City climbed to second and Nuno Espirito Santo cele brated his first win in the West Ham dugout. Here’a a look at three talking points from the Premier League weekend. SLOT RETURNS TO WINNING FORMULA Arne Slot went back to basics as he sought to end Liverpool’s damaging four-match losing run in the Premier League – and it paid dividends with a 2-0 win against Aston Villa. The Dutchman spent around £450 million (RM2.6b) on a clutch of high-profile signings in the summer transfer window but Hugo Ekitike was the ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: West Ham 3 (Paqueta 35, Botman 45+5-og, Soucek 90+7) Newcastle 1 (Murphy 4) , Manchester City 3 (Haaland 17, 33, O'Reilly 60) Bournemouth 1 (Adams 25) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 10 8 1 1 18 3 25 Man City 10 6 1 3 20 8 19 Liverpool 10 6 0 4 18 14 18 Bournemouth 10 5 3 2 17 14 18 Tottenham 10 5 2 3 17 8 17 Chelsea 10 5 2 3 18 11 17 Sunderland 9 5 2 2 11 7 17 Man Utd 10 5 2 3 17 16 17 Crystal Palace 10 4 4 2 14 9 16 Brighton 10 4 3 3 17 15 15 Aston Villa 10 4 3 3 9 10 15 Brentford 10 4 1 5 14 16 13 Newcastle 10 3 3 4 10 11 12 Fulham 10 3 2 5 12 14 11 Everton 9 3 2 4 9 12 11 Leeds 10 3 2 5 9 17 11 Burnley 10 3 1 6 12 19 10 West Ham 10 2 1 7 10 21 7 Nottm Forest 10 1 3 6 7 19 6 Wolves 10 0 2 8 7 22 2 LA LIGA: Levante 1 (Arriaga 66) Celta Vigo 2 (Mingueza 40, Roman 90+1) , Alaves 2 (Suarez 5, Boye 40) Espanyol 1 (Fernandez 56) , Barcelona 3 (Yamal 9, Torres 12, Rashford 61) Elche 1 (Mir 42) , Real Betis 3 (Antony 10, 34, Abde 37) Mallorca 0. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Real Madrid 11 10 0 1 26 10 30 Barcelona 11 8 1 2 28 13 25 Villarreal 11 7 2 2 22 10 23 Atletico 11 6 4 1 21 10 22 Real Betis 11 5 4 2 18 12 19 Espanyol 11 5 3 3 15 13 18 SERIE A: Verona 1 (Giovane 40) Inter Milan 2 (Zielin ski 16, Frese 90+3-og) , Torino 2 (Simeone 42, Adams 45+3) Pisa 2 (Moreo 13, 29-pen) , Fiorentina 0 Lecce 1 (Berisha 23) , Parma 1 (Bernabe 1) Bologna 3 (Castro 17, 68, Miranda 90+2) , AC Milan 1 (Pavlovic 39) Roma 0. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Napoli 10 7 1 2 16 8 22 Inter Milan 10 7 0 3 24 12 21 AC Milan 10 6 3 1 15 7 21 Roma 10 7 0 3 10 5 21 Bologna 10 5 3 2 16 8 18 Juventus 10 5 3 2 14 10 18 Como 10 4 5 1 12 6 17 BUNDESLIGA: Wolfsburg 2 Hoffenheim 3, Cologne 4 Hamburg 1. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts B. Munich 9 9 0 0 33 4 27 RB Leipzig 9 7 1 1 19 10 22 B. Dortmund 9 6 2 1 15 6 20 Stuttgart 9 6 0 3 14 10 18 B. Leverkusen 9 5 2 2 18 14 17 Hoffenheim 9 5 1 3 18 15 16 FRENCH LIGUE 1: Rennes 4 Strasbourg 1, Lens 3 Lorient 0, Lille 1 Angers 0, Nantes 0 Metz 2, Toulouse 0 Le Havre 0, Brest 0 Lyon 0. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Paris SG 11 7 3 1 21 9 24 Marseille 11 7 1 3 25 11 22 Lens 11 7 1 3 17 10 22 Lille 11 6 2 3 23 13 20 Monaco 11 6 2 3 23 17 20 Lyon 11 6 2 3 16 12 20 TALKING POINTS ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

NATIONAL male gymnast Muhammad Sharul Aimy Kamaru Hisam admitted he is racing against time to make the best possible preparations ahead of the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand next month. Muhammad Sharul Aimy said prepara tions for the biennial sporting event have been rather limited as he is still recovering from a knee injury sustained during a training session last February. “It took me about three months before I could start jumping again, but I’m still not fully fit. The preparation period is quite short, but I will try to do my best,”he said when met recently. He said the 2025 SEA Games will be his second competi tive outing this year after delivering a less-than satisfactory performance at the World Championships in Jakarta last month. The 24 year-old was eliminated in the qualifying rounds,

Yusri over the moon Immigration coach hails players’ grit after maiden win

I MMIGRATION FC’S long awaited first Super League win this season proved an emotional moment for head coach Yusri Che Lah. Yusri described the crucial three points picked up against Penang FC last night as the result of his players’ hard work, discipline and determina tion, and also praised their com posure and mental strength. “The 95 minutes felt like forever. Usually, the pressure comes when we’re chasing goals, but this time it was about defending our lead. “When the whistle blew, the joy and relief were clear on everyone’s faces,” he told reporters after the match at the City Stadium here. He said the win, which lifted the team to eighth place in the stand ings with six points from eight matches, symbolised the resur gence of “The Mighty Tigers”, a new team that had often struggled to get results earlier in the season. Immigration FC were already missing key players such as

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Danel Mohd Nizam. Desperate to find an equaliser, the Panthers launched more attacks, and Brundo thought he had scored in

the 72nd minute, but the referee disallowed the goal after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review con firmed he was off side. Penang FC head

coach Wan Rohaimi Wan Ismail admitted the home defeat was dif ficult to accept, saying his players panicked after missing several chances and were punished for los ing possession in crucial moments. In the other Super League match on Sunday night, two goals from Jordan David Murray ensured DPMM FC earned a point after drawing 2-2 against Negeri Sembilan FC at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Barakas Brunei. After a goalless first 45 minutes, the visitors broke the deadlock through Joseph Esso in the 54th minute before the hosts equalised in the 62nd minute through Murray. Negeri Sembilan regained the lead three minutes later when Jovan Motika scored, but Murray struck again in the 81st minute to save DPMM from defeat and secure at least a point on home ground. – Bernama

Immigration’s Eduardo Jose Sosa Vegas (left) in action against Penang during the Super League match at the Bandaraya Stadium on Sunday. – BERNAMAPIC

Amirali Chegini and Nik Sharif Haseefy due to injuries, and Yusri praised debutant Mohd Loqman Hakim

Marzuki and substitute Abdul Hanafie Tokyo Abdul Hasim for stepping in with impressive dis plays. “We now have six points and are not far behind other teams. The upcoming three-week break is vital to refine tactics and boost fitness,” he said.

The match was tightly contested from the start as both sides dis played solid play, exchanging attacks and creating several on-tar get attempts, though the first half ended without goals. The second half saw both teams intensify their efforts to find the

opener, with Penang FC coming close when Ahmad Irfan Mohd Noor’s cross failed to be converted by team captain Stefano Brundo. Imigresen finally broke the deadlock in the 59th minute through foreign striker Wilmar Jordan Gil, who slotted home a pass

only new face to start Sunday’s match. Alexander Isak and Jeremie Frimpong were missing with injuries while Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz were on the bench. Andy Robertson and Conor Bradley were picked as the fullbacks as the defending champions kept a first clean sheet in 11 games in all competitions. The home side rode their luck against in-form Villa, who hit the woodwork twice before Mohamed Salah scored his 250th goal for the club following a howler from Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. The pressure on Slot has eased but he still has huge decisions to make on how best to use his expensive squad, with a daunting trip to Manchester City next Monday. FANTASY GOAL MACHINE HAALAND It is easy to be blase about Erling Haaland, Manchester City’s unique goalscoring machine. The Norwegian scored twice more yesterday against high-flying Bournemouth to take his sea

son’s tally to 26 goals in 16 games for club and coun try. Bournemouth’s David Brooks admitted it is almost impossible to come up with a plan to deal with the marauding 1.95m striker. Haaland had an amusing take when asked how he felt about being substituted when in sight of a hattrick. “There were probably a few fantasy managers who were not so happy,”he told Sky Sports , referring to the game in which participants win points based on the real-life performances of players. Pep Guardiola’s City are still seeking consistency but with Haaland in this form, they must surely be title contenders. TOTTENHAM UNREST Tottenham are fifth in the Premier League and unbeaten in the Champions League this season. But it seems tensions are bubbling in the camp, with decent results so far masking some sub-stan

dard performances. Stand-in captain Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence appeared to snub manager Thomas Frank as they came off the pitch following a lame 1-0 defeat by Chelsea on Saturday – their 10th loss against their London rivals in 12 meetings in all competitions. Frank’s team were booed off after they produced only one shot on target all game and recorded their lowest expected goals figure of 0.05 on record (since 2012/13). The former Brentford boss played down the inci dent involving Van de Ven and Spence, saying it is “one of the small issues”. “They perform very well so far this season and everyone is frustrated,” he added. “We do things in a different way, so I don’t think it is a big problem.” But it was an uncomfortable moment and one that he will have to address. AFP