19/12/2025

SPORTS FRIDAY | DEC 19, 2025

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THE decision by the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) to overturn the results of three of Malaysia’s Tier 1 international friendly matches, after finding they had fielded ineligible players, must be respected and accepted. Former national striker Safee Sali has sug gested that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) move forward and focus on efforts to develop the country’s football. “Fifa have made a decision, and we must accept what has been stated, including the defeats and the penalties imposed. What is more important now is that we develop our game. “Mistakes have been made, and Fifa have imposed punishment. We must not repeat the mistakes. We need to move on and take more positive steps, one step at a time,”he told a media conference during the 2025 MommyHana Safee Sali Superkids Cup Championships in Kuala Lumpur. Commenting on the impact the decision might have on the national team, Safee believes that the Harimau Malaya players still have the determination to rise and continue to fight as long as they are given opportunities to play on the international stage. “Players surely want to win, and they will never give up. As long as they can play, there is still hope,” he said. He also stressed that the Harimau Malaya squad should continue to receive support because the team carry Malaysia’s name on the international scene. FAM on Wednesday confirmed that the Fifa Disciplinary Committee had imposed fresh sanc tions on the national body for fielding ineligible players in three Tier 1 international friendlies. FAM said that Fifa ruled that Malaysia’s results in three Tier 1 international matches have been overturned to 3-0 defeats, as well as the imposi tion of a fine of CHF10,000 (RM51,000). The affected matches are Malaysia’s 1-1 draw with Cape Verde at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras on May 29; the 2-1 victory over Singapore at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Sept 4; and the 1-0 win over Palestine at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, on Sept 8. – Bernama ’Respect Fifa ruling’ NATIONAL mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei advanced to the semifinals of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Championship after defeating Indonesian pair Jafar Hidayatullah Felisha Pasaribu in the second Group B match yesterday. The world champions started shakily in the first set after losing 17-21, but recovered in the next two sets to win 21-14, 21-15. This was the second win for the national pair after defeating compatriots Goh Soon Huat Shevon Lai Jemie yesterday. Tang Jie-Ee Wei will meet Feng Yang Zhe Huang Dong Ping in the final Group A match today. Also recording a win yesterday was the national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M Thinaah who managed to secure their second win after defeating the Japanese pair, Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi in the second match of Group A. Pearly-Thinaah who had no problem winning straight sets 21-13, 21-18 in 52 minutes booked their semifinals slot. The national pair who are still fresh from winning the gold medal at the recent Thailand Sea Games will meet Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto to complete the Group A action today. Meanwhile, Soon Huat-Shevon suffered a different fate as they lost for the second time in a row at the tournament when they conceded defeat to Yang Zhe-Dong Ping, thus making it difficult for them to advance to the semifinals. The husband and wife pair started well in the first set when they won 25-23 before failing to continue their excellent run in the next two sets and conceded defeat 11-21, 20-22 in an action that lasted one hour and nine minutes. – Bernama Tang Jie-Ee Wei, Pearly-Thinaah through to semis

Diving into troubled waters National divers still empty handed in Thailand

SEA GAMES

MEDAL TALLY G S B

after 3m springboard failure I S MALAYSIA losing its superiority in diving at the regional level? That cer tainly seems to be the case, given that the national divers have yet to deliver a gold medal at the SEA Games Thailand 2025 in Samut Prakan as of yesterday. And the signs couldn’t be any clearer when not a single Malaysian diver got on the podium of the men’s 3m springboard event – the only one contested on the second day of competition – at the Assumption University Aquatic Centre, Suvarnabhumi Campus. Malaysian divers have won the men’s 3m springboard gold medal since the 2005 edition, but today, both Malaysian divers – debutant Elvis Priestly Clement and Muhammad Syafiq Puteh, who won gold at the 2021 Vietnam and 2023 Cambodia editions – failed to get on the podium. Sarawakian Elvis finished fourth after six dives with a total of 359.80 points, while Muhammad Syafiq ended up fifth with 356.30 points, thus ending Malaysia’s two decade domination of the event. Thailand’s Chawanwat Juntaphada not only bagged the gold medal with 378.30

COUNTRY

Ttl

points, but also ended the host nation’s 22 year drought in the event, which Suchart Pichi last won at the 2003 edition in Vietnam. Two Singaporeans – Avvir Pac Lun Tham (376.55 points) and Max Lee Shen Oon (366.00 points) – settled for silver and bronze respectively. Muhammad Syafiq blamed the left hip injury he sustained during training camp in South Korea at the end of last month for his poor performance today. “I am still not 100 fit, but I am soldiering on. I don’t feel good because of the injury,” he said. The 30-year-old also apologised to all Malaysians for his failure here and vowed to bounce back from this setback. As for Priestly Clement, he is just glad to have had the chance to compete in the SEA Games, saying it gave him valuable experience and hopes to do better next time. The national diving squad began their SEA Games Thailand 2025 campaign on Wednesday with a bronze medal through Yong Rui Jie in the men’s 1m springboard event. – Bernama

1. Thailand 2. Indonesia 3. Vietnam 4. Singapore 5. Malaysia 6. Philippines 7. Myanmar

196 129

93 418

80 72 48 46 41

92 102 274

72 51

99 243 69 168

49 108 203 59 126 226

3 2 1 0

20

38 22

61 33

8. Laos

9 3 0

9. Brunei

4 3

8 3

10. Timor-Leste

RESULTS

CARABAO CUP (Quarterfinals) Manchester City 2 Brentford 0, Newcastle United 2 Fulham 1. COPA DEL REY (Last 32 ) Cultural Leonesa 1 Levante 0, Albacete 2 Celta Vigo 2 aet (Albacete win 3-0 on pen), Baleares 2 Atletico Madrid 3, Huesca 2 Osasuna 4 aet, Racing Santander 2 Villarreal 1, Alaves 1 Sevilla 0, Talavera 2 Real Madrid 3. INTERCONTINENTAL CUP (Final) Paris Saint-Germain 1 Flamengo 1 (PSG win 2-1 after pen) . Speedy Tigers storm into final SYED Mohammad Syafiq Syed Cholan and Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal struck a hattrick each as Malaysia trounced Singapore 12-2 yesterday to be one step away from defending the SEA Games men’s hockey gold medal for the 17th consecutive time. Malaysia will take on Thailand in today’s final after the SEA Games 2025 hosts edged Indonesia 4-3 in a penalty shootout after both teams were tied 1-1 in regulation time. In the Malaysia-Singapore semifinal match at the Thailand National Sports University in Chonburi, defender Syed Syafiq netted three penalty corner goals in the 15th, 32nd and 36th minutes, while forward Azrai Aizad struck three field goals in the 16th, 22nd and 31st minutes. Midfielder Mohd Fitri Saari got the ball rolling for Malaysia in the seventh minute with a field goal, while Muhammad Amirul Hamizan Azahar (11th minute), Nik Aiman Nik Rozemi (21st), Amanraj Singh (41st), Norsyafiq Sumantri (59th) and Shello Silverius (60th) chipped in with one goal apiece. Yap Wee Lee (54th minute) and Zaki Zulkarnain (58th minute) replied for Singapore. National team coach Sarjit Singh was pleased with his men’s energetic display against Singapore and is looking forward to tomorrow’s title showdown against Thailand. “As for tomorrow’s final, we need to finish them off as soon as we can. The earlier we score, the better. We need to create chances and finish them off,” he said. – Bernama

Jojo proud of younger brother Miki

National Muay Thai athlete Mikail Ghazali (left) and his brother Johan Ghazali (centre) in action in the 57kg category at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

MALAYSIAN Muay Thai star Muhammad Johan Ghazali Zulfikar has described his younger brother Muhammad Mikail Ghazali’s gold medal win in the 57kg category at the Thailand 2025 SEA Games as an extraordinary achievement, particularly considering the athlete’s young age. Muhammad Johan, better known as Jojo, said 16-year-old Muhammad Mikail, also known as Miki, faced a major challenge competing against opponents much more experienced, aged between 20 and 30. According to Jojo, Miki’s achievement deserved recognition, as not all athletes could reach that level at such a young age. “I’m truly proud, because people need to understand Miki is only 16 and he competed against fighters nearly twice his age. Winning SEA Games gold at this age is very meaningful and not easy. “It’s not easy to reach this level. Now Miki can be proud of himself. Elias (brother Muhammad Elias Ghazali) has no gold, Jojo has no gold, but Miki has the SEA Games gold,” he said at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Wednesday. Jojo is the second of four siblings, including younger sister Emylia Ghazali, who is also involved in Muay Thai. The professional athlete came to Bangkok to support his brother in bringing

glory to Malaysia. In Wednesday’s bout, Miki, making his SEA Games debut, created a sensation by winning gold after defeating Thai athlete Suphakon Sirilun 29-28 in a three-round match, despite the loud cheers from the home crowd. Miki could not contain his emotions, shedding tears throughout the interview with local media. “Who wouldn’t cry after winning the SEA Games gold, especially at just 16 years old. Alhamdulillah ,” he said, having prepared rigorously for two months before the competition. In addition to Miki’s success, the national Muay Thai team also secured gold through Wassof Rujiman in the men’s 54kg category and Angie Yan Jia Chi, who won the women’s Wai Kru final by defeating Thailand’s world champion Thanawan Thongduang. Malaysia also won three silver medals through Eva Anatasia Warren in the women’s 48kg category, Insyad Rumijam (men’s 51kg) and Nur Amisha Azrilrizal (women’s 51kg). The haul of three golds and three silvers marked an improvement for the national team after only one gold and one silver in the 2021 edition in Vietnam, with Muay Thai not contested in the 2023 edition in Cambodia. – Bernama