05/12/2025

SPORTS FRIDAY | DEC 5, 2025

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BAM targets four gold medals at SEA Games Thailand BADMINTON Association of

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal 2 (Merino 11, Saka 90+1) Brentford 0, Brighton 3 (Van Hecke 9, 83, Torres 29-og) Aston Villa 4 (Watkins 37, 45+7, Onana 60, Malen 78) , Burnley 0 Crystal Palace 1 (Munoz 44) , Leeds 3 (Bijol 6, Tanaka 43, Calvert-Lewin 72) Chelsea 1 (Neto 50) , Liverpool 1 (Mukiele 81-og) Sunderland 1 (Talbi 67) , Wolves 0 Nottingham Forest 1 (Jesus 72) . TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 14 10 3 1 27 7 33 Man City 14 9 1 4 32 16 28 Aston Villa 14 8 3 3 20 14 27 Chelsea 14 7 3 4 25 15 24 Crystal Palace 14 6 5 3 18 11 23 Sunderland 14 6 5 3 18 14 23 Brighton 14 6 4 4 24 20 22 LA LIGA: Athletic Bilbao 0 Real Madrid 3 (Mbappe 7, 59, Camavinga 42) . TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 15 12 1 2 42 17 37 Real Madrid 15 11 3 1 32 13 36 Villarreal 14 10 2 2 29 13 32 Atletico 15 9 4 2 28 14 31 Real Betis 14 6 6 2 22 14 24 Espanyol 14 7 3 4 18 16 24 SPANISH CUP (2nd rd) : Eldense 2 Almería 1, Cultural Leonesa 4 Andorra 2, Talavera 2 Málaga 1, Real Murcia 3 Cádiz 2, Mirandés 0 Sporting Gijón 2, Quin tanar 1 Elche 2, Torrent 1 Real Betis 4, Reus FCR 0 Real Sociedad 2, Cieza 0 Levante 1, Ourense 2 Girona 1, Antoniano 1 Villarreal 1 – Villarreal win 5-3 on penalties , Pontevedra 0 Eibar 3. Italian Cup (last 16) : Atalanta 4 Genoa 0, Napoli 1 Cagliari 1 – Napoli win 9-8 on penalties , Inter Milan 5 Venezia 1. GERMAN CUP (last 16) : Bochum 0 Stuttgart 2, Freiburg 2 Darmstadt 98 0, Hamburger SV 1 Holstein Kiel 1 AET – Holstein Kiel win 4-2 on penal ties , Union Berlin 2 Bayern Munich 3. SHORTS M’sia rout Indonesia in Polo opener MALAYSIA kicked off their 2025 SEA Games equestrian polo campaign on a positive note, defeating Indonesia 8-4 in the opening match at the VS Sports Club & Siam Polo Park in Samut Prakan on Wednesday. National polo team manager Datuk Shaiful Annuar Ahmad Shaffie said the players and their horses displayed strong energy and determination throughout the match to overcome the Indonesian side. “Our horses did not have sufficient time to adapt to the ground and surroundings as they only arrived three days ago due to the floods in southern Thailand. “Despite being exhausted from travelling, the horses still managed to deliver an excellent performance, and I am very pleased with their effort,” he told Bernama . Tigress ready to roar again THE national women’s hockey team intend to strengthen their domination in the Southeast Asian region by retaining the gold medal at the SEA Games Thailand 2025, which will be held from Dec 9-20. Head coach Mohd Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim said the team comprised experienced players aged 21 and above, including seven who featured in the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2025 in Santiago, Chile. “We appreciate the confidence of our supporters and will always uphold the principle of respecting every opponent. We understand that many view Malaysia as the top seeds, but there are no easy matches in modern hockey. “We will remain humble, be disciplined and respect every opponent. Our mission is to always play to the highest level and to always go for victory,” he said. This year’s edition will see four teams vying for glory in women’s hockey, namely Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. Based on current rankings, Malaysia is in the 22nd spot in the world, ahead of Thailand (28), Singapore (35) and Indonesia (74), thereby making the Malaysian Tigress the top pick to defend the gold medal they won at the 2023 edition in Cambodia. RESULTS & STANDINGS

Tan-M. Thinaah (women’s doubles); Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh (men’s singles) and K. Letshanaa and Wong Ling Ching (women’s singles). Others include Man Wei Chong Tee Kai Wun (men’s doubles), Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing (women’s doubles) and Hoo Pang Ron Cheng Su Yin (mixed doubles). All those listed will also compete in their respective team events. They will be aided by Eogene Ewe and Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin in the men’s team event and by Siti Zulaikha Muhammad Azmi and Eng Ler Qi in the women’s team event. – Bernama Six nations compete in RSC youth football event OVER 1,200 young footballers will com pete in the upcoming 19th edition of the Royal Selangor Club (RSC) – Datuk Chu Ah Nge International Junior Soccer Tournament slated for today and ends on Dec 7 at the grounds of the RSC Bukit Kiara Annexe. This year’s tournament will also feature teams from Singapore, Maldives, Indonesia, Nepal and Malaysia, said organising committee chairman Datuk Gerald Rakish Kumar. “This tournament, which is specifically catered for the development of grassroots soccer, will have participating teams, clubs and soccer academies competing with five team groups, namely the under-8s, under 10s, under-12s, under-14s and under-16s, with the Datuk Chu Ah Nge Challenge Trophy being presented to the team with the highest cumulative points at the end of the tournament,”he told a press conference at RSC in Bukit Kiara on Wednesday. Also present was Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Datuk Dollah Salleh and for mer national player Datuk Santokh Singh. Gerald said as an added incentive, all winners in the cup category of the RSC will be given free entry to the famed JSSL Singapore Professional Academy 7s, which will be held in April 2026. “To accommodate the requests from teams for a longer playing time, the playing time for each match will be set at eight minutes. Due to the increase in play time, the tournament will run over three days and there will be matches to be played at night under the spotlight.” The tournament, which was initially launched in 2005, was seen as an opportu nity to provide a competitive environment for all teams in the RSC development pro gramme, but it has grown rapidly and has now become an international competition. Meanwhile, Dollah, who is also the for mer national’s team head coach, said it is pertinent for youngsters to play international football at young age to aid their development. He added that Malaysia needs the right person to steer local football development, noting the return of Datuk Ong Kim Swee as a key figure in revitalising grassroots programmes nationwide. Ong is expected to begin his duty as technical director at the Akademi Mokhtar Dahari on Jan 1, to ensure Malaysia does not lose talented players through poor follow-up or inadequate development planning. – by Ikhwan Zulkaflee

“So, we should give the best for the country and please bear in mind that Malaysia is not the only country that is fielding the best. If you look at the other countries, they have also decided to field the best,” he told a press conference after a flag handover ceremony to Malaysian badminton players yesterday. In October, BAM named its strongest lineup for the 33rd edition of the Games with the likes of two world champions – Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles) and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles). Apart from them, BAM have also placed its faith in 2025 World Championships runners-up Pearly

Malaysia (BAM) has set four gold medal target at the SEA Games Thailand 2025, which will run from Dec 9 to 20. BAM president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said they are also targeting seven medals in total from the biennial Games. Tengku Zafrul said the target reflects both current form and world rankings, with Malaysia’s strongest prospects lying in mixed doubles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and men’s team event, based on their performances previously. “I have discussed this (sending strong teams) with Youth and

Sports Minister (Hannah Yeoh) and the management that this is a decision, a collective decision. I think the coaches are also in agreement.

Lack of chemistry FAM VP says constant

reshuffling cost Asian Cup spot

Ű BY IKHWAN ZULKAFLEE newsdesk@thesundaily.com

players who are good enough to progress. Dollah revealed that he had held discussions with Datuk Ong Kim Swee, the candidate for the AMD technical director post, to ensure Malaysia no longer loses talented players due to weak monitoring or insufficient long-term development planning. Asked about criticism claiming the U-16 squad’s failure reflected the overall weakness of Malaysian grassroots football, Dollah strongly disagreed. “That is not the issue. The real problem is that sometimes we fail to identify the right play ers early enough. We overlook players who actu ally have high ability, this is what we must avoid.” On the shortage of potential players progressing to senior Malaysian football teams, Dollah said many talented youngsters end up as benchwarmers in state squads despite being capable of playing at higher levels – a situation that ultimately stunts their development. “We don’t want players to stagnate at youth level. They must play regularly at the highest level possible. Otherwise, they will fade.” Dollah added that many players perform well at youth tournaments but lose their edge once they transition to senior levels due to poor career mapping or lack of competitive opportunities. To address this, FAM is now working on a structured plan outlining the pathway for players once they pass the age of 17. This includes deciding where they should play, how they should continue training and what steps must be taken to ensure they do not lose their momentum. “We are in the process of ensuring that after age 17, the players know exactly where they are headed. We need to monitor them closely so they don’t lose their capabilities. We cannot allow players who shine at 15 or 16 to suddenly struggle at 19 or 20.” In the U-17 Asian Cup qualification, Malaysia finished second in Group C with 12 points from five matches, behind host Vietnam’s 15. Malaysia last qualified for the U-17 Asian Cup in 2023, while their best performance was reaching the quarterfinals in 2014.

PART 1 C ONSTANT reshuffling of players and a lack of on-field chemistry were among the main reasons the national Under-16 squad failed to secure qualification for the 2026 Saudi Arabia AFC U-17 Asian Cup, according to Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) vice-president Datuk Dollah Salleh (pic) . Speaking to reporters after an event in Bukit Kiara, the former national team head coach said the team led by Javier Ribera could not find their rhythm and stability needed for high-level competition. “We actually played well, individually the boys are good. But I feel there were shortcomings in the team due to what I believe was a miscalculation in selection. We kept changing players and because of that, the team could not build proper chemistry. “Overall, the players are good. But during the match against Vietnam especially, we looked a little lost. The lack of understanding between players showed because too many changes were made. That was where the mistake happened,” said the former national striker. According to Dollah, despite the team mixed results in their international assignments, sev eral players impressed him with their potential. “From what I saw, there are five or six players who have a very high ceiling and deserve to be developed further. I truly believe they are capable and worthy,” he added. Dollah said the players have now returned to their respective teams, but FAM has already identified several players who will be closely monitored, adding that both the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) and Akademi Mokhtar Dahari (AMD) will play significant roles in ensuring promising youngsters are systematically guided. “We don’t want a repeat of what happened in previous years when we failed to produce enough players ready for the senior level. This time, we want each batch to have at least ten