22/12/2025

SPORTS MONDAY | DEC 22, 2025

31

Training in Mongolia pays off for Amir Daniel

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Bournemouth 1 (Semenyo 67) Burnley 1 (Broja 90) , Brighton 0 Sunderland 0, Manchester City 3 (Haaland 5, 69, Reijnders 38) West Ham 0, Newcastle 2 (Woltemade 4, 20) Chelsea 2 (James 49, Joao Pedro 66) , Tottenham 1 (Richarlison 83) Liverpool 2 (Isak 56, Ekitike 66) , Wolves 0 Brentford 2 (Lewis-Potter 63, 83) , Everton 0 Arsenal 1 (Gyokeres 27-pen) , Leeds 4 (Calvert-Lewin 38, 45+4, Ampadu 60, Stach 90+11) Crystal Palace 1 (Devenny 90+2-pen) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 17 12 3 2 31 10 39 Man City 17 12 1 4 41 16 37 Aston Villa 16 10 3 3 25 17 33 Chelsea 17 8 5 4 29 17 29 Liverpool 17 9 2 6 28 25 29 Sunderland 17 7 6 4 19 17 27 Man Utd 16 7 5 4 30 26 26 Palace 17 7 5 5 21 19 26 Brighton 17 6 6 5 25 23 24 Everton 17 7 3 7 18 20 24 Newcastle 17 6 5 6 23 22 23 Brentford 17 7 2 8 24 25 23 Tottenham 17 6 4 7 26 23 22 Bournemouth 17 5 7 5 26 29 22 Fulham 16 6 2 8 23 26 20 Leeds 17 5 4 8 24 31 19 Nottm Forest 16 5 3 8 17 25 18 West Ham 17 3 4 10 19 35 13 Burnley 17 3 2 12 19 34 11 Wolves 17 0 2 15 9 37 2 CHAMPIONSHIP Blackburn Rovers 2 Millwall 0, Preston North End 1 Norwich 1, Southampton 1 Coventry 1, Bristol City 2 Middlesbrough 0, Charlton Athletic 1 Oxford United 0, Derby County 1 Portsmouth 1, Hull City 1 West Bromwich Albion 0, Ipswich Town 3 Sheffield Wednesday 1, Queens Park Rangers 4 Leicester City 1, Sheffield United 3 Birmingham 0, Watford 1 Stoke City 0. Top 5 P W D L F A Pts Coventry 22 14 6 2 53 23 48 M’brough 22 12 6 4 33 24 42 Ipswich 22 10 7 5 38 23 37 Hull 22 11 4 7 37 35 37 Preston 22 9 9 4 30 23 36 LA LIGA Real Oviedo 0 Celta Vigo 0, Levante 1 (De la Fuente 90+4) Real Sociedad 1 (Kubo 45+1) , Osasuna 3 (Budimir 72, 82-pen, Garcia 90+3) Alaves 0, Real Madrid 2 (Bellingham 38, Mbappe 86-pen) Sevilla 0. Top 5 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 17 14 1 2 49 20 43 Real Madrid 18 13 3 2 36 16 42 Villarreal 15 11 2 2 31 13 35 Atleti 17 10 4 3 30 16 34 Espanyol 16 9 3 4 20 16 30 SERIE A Juventus 2 (Conceicao 44, Openda 70) Roma 1 (Baldanzi 76) , Lazio 0 Cremonese 0. Top 5 P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 15 11 0 4 34 14 33 AC Milan 15 9 5 1 24 13 32 Napoli 15 10 1 4 22 13 31 Roma 16 10 0 6 17 10 30 Juventus 16 8 5 3 21 15 29 BUNDESLIGA RB Leipzig 1 Bayer Leverkusen 3, Cologne 0 Union Berlin 1, Augsburg 0 Werder Bremen 0, Wolfsburg 3 Freiburg 4, Stuttgart 0 Hoffen heim 0, Hamburg 1 Eintracht Frankfurt 1. Top 5 P W D L F A Pts Bayern 14 12 2 0 51 11 38 Dortmund 15 9 5 1 26 12 32 Leipzig 14 9 2 3 29 16 29 Hoffenheim 15 8 3 4 29 20 27 Leverkusen 14 8 2 4 30 19 26 FRENCH CUP (Round of 64/selected) Lusitanos 0 Lille 1, Biesheim 0 Metz 3, Raon l’Etape 0 Paris FC 3, Grenoble 1 Nancy 1 (Nancy win 5-3 on pen) , Vendee Fontenay 0 Paris Saint Germain 4.

A MONTH of intensive training in Mongolia paid off handsomely for national judoka Amir Daniel Abdul Majeed, who etched his name into Malaysian sporting history by delivering the country’s first judo gold medal in 44 years at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand. Amir Daniel ended Malaysia’s long wait for judo gold since the last triumph in 1981 after clinching the men’s under-81kg title, marking the biggest achievement ever recorded by the sport at the SEA Games. The 21-year-old said the high-intensity training camp in Mongolia with the national team, which involved at least two training sessions daily over a month, was crucial in sharpening his form heading into the Games.

“I want to share this gold medal with my late father because he always paid close attention to my judo training. He was my strongest supporter and the one who introduced me to judo when I was five. “I love him very much. When he died, I was still in Mongolia preparing for the SEA Games. I returned immediately and managed to see him for the last time before the burial,” he said. Personal coach Mat Nashriq Md Nasir, 40, said Amir Daniel’s journey in judo has been a long one, and described him as an exceptionally hardworking athlete. “I’ve coached Amir since he was five until now, almost 20 years. This success is not his alone, but the result of collective effort.” he said. – Bernama

“In the previous two SEA Games, I only managed bronze medals. This time, the coaches and the judo association had set at least a gold medal as the target for my category, and from the beginning, our focus was on winning. “ Alhamdulillah , all the hard work paid off at the Thailand SEA Games. I’m extremely happy because after 44 years, Malaysian judo has finally won gold again. It means a lot to me and to the team,” he said. Amir Daniel said the gold medal was also dedicated to his late father, who died while he was undergoing training in Mongolia, although his passing on Nov 27 did not dampen his spirit, but instead strengthened his resolve to end Malaysia’s long gold medal drought in judo.

No stopping JDT Southern Tigers continue to dominate season with crushing win over Real Warriors

301/25

21/12/2025

4240 5757 7052

JDT players celebrate after scoring against Kelantan in the 2025/26 Malaysia Super League at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

6312 5098 7263 6400 0517

5171 3427 5456 1915 4290

2779 0606 1850 2256 9702

9394 4654 4645 5245 9293

RM17,150,137.83

4240 + 5757 5757 + 4240 7052 + 4240

4240 + 7052 5757 + 7052 7052 + 5757

J OHOR DARUL TA’ZIM (JDT) once again demonstrated their prowess as defending champions by showcasing absolute dominance to thrash Kelantan The Real Warriors (TRW) FC 4-1 in their 2025/2026 Super League match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Saturday night. The hosts opened the scoring through a powerful header by Jairo De Macedo Da Silva in the 22nd minute, following a lofted cross from Manuel Federico Hidalgo Gasparini, much to the delight of their loyal supporters. The goal sparked a surge from the Southern Tigers, as JDT immediately increased their intensity, controlling possession and launching a series of attacks before Alberto Diaz Martin doubled the lead in the 43rd minute by tapping in a pass from Jairo Da Silva. The second half saw JDT emerge even more aggressive, continuing to pressure the visitors. Oscar Arribas Pasero put the hosts further ahead in the 53rd minute, before Muhammad Nazmi Faiz Mansor added the fourth goal just four minutes later, effectively crushing any hopes of a Kelantan TRW comeback. However, Kelantan TRW refused to give up easily and managed to grab a consolation goal in the 74th minute through a long-range lob by Muhammad Nor Azam Abdul Azih, which beat JDT goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed. The squad under the guidance of Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli nearly secured a second goal through an effort from outside the penalty box by Muhammad Syaahir Saiful Nazim in the 78th minute, but the shot went wide to the right of the goal. Meanwhile, in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah FC suffered unexpected home defeat, falling 1-3 to the Bruneian side DPMM in a match held

at the Likas Stadium. DPMM FC opened the scoring in the 20th minute when Indonesian national striker Ramadhan Sananta sprinted to meet a header from Jordan Murray during a counter-attack before slotting the ball past goalkeeper Damien Lim. The Bruneian team then doubled their lead in the 74th minute of the second half through a goal by Tommy Mawat Bada but the home side managed to close the gap just two minutes later with a fine finish by Ajdin Mujagic. However, DPMM FC captain Azwan Ali Rahman successfully capitalised on a goalmouth scramble in the 86th minute to secure the advantage and seal the win for his team. At the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi, Negeri Sembilan FC who hosted Kuala Lumpur City, shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw. The City Boys, coached by Risto Vidakovic, opened the scoring as early as the sixth minute through a swift counter-attack finished of by Kpah Sean Sherman. The home team nearly equalised via a free kick from Jovan Motika in the 15th minute, but his attempt sailed wide of the goal. Sherman had another opportunity to score in a one-on-one situation, but the goal was disallowed as he was ruled offside in the 42nd minute. Moving into the second half, NSFC import player Jovan Motika almost leveled the score when his powerful strike in the 64th minute nearly beat the opposing goalkeeper, but the ball was successfully parried by Quincy Julian Kammeraad. At the very end of the second half (90th minute), a precise pass from NSFC captain Takumi Sasaki was met with a clinical header by Joseph Esso, effectively sealing the draw for the night. – Bernama

RM409,289.71

3 7 161822273236

2 30

RM11,046,829.33

RM137,483.02

4 0 5 7 5 2 40575

05752

4057

5752

405

752

40

52

57

02

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