24/12/2025

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | DEC 24, 2025

31

Malacca unites for health

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Fulham 1 (Jimenez 45+5-pen) Nottingham Forest 0. 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 17 11 3 3 27 18 36 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 17 7 5 5 31 28 26 Crystal 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 Fulham 17 7 2 8 24 26 23 Tottenham 17 6 4 7 26 23 22 Bournemouth 17 5 7 5 26 29 22 Leeds 17 5 4 8 24 31 19 Nottm Forest 17 5 3 9 17 26 18 West Ham 17 3 4 1019 35 13 Burnley 17 3 2 1219 34 11 Wolves 17 0 2 15 9 37 2 LA LIGA: Athletic Bilbao 1 (Berenguer 38) Espanyol 2 (Romero 44, Milla 52) . TOP 10 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 18 15 1 2 51 20 46 Real Madrid 18 13 3 2 36 16 42 Atletico 18 11 4 3 33 16 37 Villarreal 16 11 2 3 31 15 35 Espanyol 17 10 3 4 22 17 33 Real Betis 17 7 7 3 29 19 28 Celta Vigo 17 5 8 4 20 19 23 Bilbao 18 7 2 9 16 24 23 Elche 17 5 7 5 23 20 22 Sevilla 17 6 2 9 24 26 20 ITALIAN SUPER CUP (Final) : Napoli 2 Group A: Mali 1 (Sinayoko 61) Zambia 1 (Daka 90+2) , Morocco 2 (Diaz 55, El Kaabi 74) Comoros 0. P W D L F A Pts Morocco 1 1 0 0 2 0 3 Mali 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 Zambia 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 Comoros 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 Group B: South Africa 2 (Appollis 21, Foster 79) Angola 1 (Show 35) , Egypt 2 (Marmoush 64, Salah 90+1) Zimbabwe 1 (Dube 20) . P W D L F A Pts Egypt 1 1 0 0 2 1 3 South Africa 1 1 0 0 2 1 3 Angola 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 Zimbabwe 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 Harimau Malaya’s ranking drops to 121 THE ranking of the national football squad, Harimau Malaya, has dropped to 121st in the world as the latest rankings was released by the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) yesterday. Based on the update released yesterday, Harimau Malaya accumulated 1,145.9 points, falling five spots from their previous position of 116th in the world. The drop in ranking follows Fifa’s decision to annul two victories against Singapore (Sept 4) and Palestine (Sept 8), as well as a draw against Cape Verde (May 29), after Malaysia was found to have fielded ineligible players. Consequently, Fifa has declared Malaysia the loser of all three matches with a recorded score of 3-0. In addition to the declared defeats, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has also been slapped with a fine of CHF 10,000 (RM51,414). – Bernama (Neres 39, 57) Bologna 0. AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS

T HE 2025 Malacca Games, which began last July and concluded on Monday, fea tured nine sports and attracted 15,696 participants, reflecting the strong response of the people in the state to promote a healthy lifestyle. State Youth, Sports, and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Committee chairman Datuk VP Shanmugam said the event was an initiative by the state government through the Malacca Sports Council (MSN) to compete for the Malacca Chief Minister Cup, aiming to strengthen the relation ship between leaders and the people. “The Malacca Games started with the state constituency-level on July 19 to Dec 22, while the state level competition was held from Sept 5 to Dec 22 at several designated sports venues. “The types of sports that were competed were football, sepak takraw, netball, basketball, futsal, badminton, snooker, checkers and konda kondi,” he said. He said the increase in the number of partici pants, from 13,963 last year, proved the “very encouraging” response from the Malacca com

Malacca Games drew 15k participants across nine sports, strengthening ties among state leaders and citizens

Games,” he said. Meanwhile, Ab Rauf, in his speech, said sports should not be viewed merely as an annual event, but as a movement capable of uniting all levels of society and reinforcing Melaka’s identity as an icon of sporting excellence. He said the state government had allocated RM10.9 million under the 2026 State Budget to upgrade facilities and develop new sports infra structure, reaffirming its commitment to building a sustainable and inclusive sports ecosystem. “The allocation will fund several major pro jects, including the upgrading of the State Sports Council Badminton Hall, improvements to exist ing sports facilities, and the construction of a new archery range in Ayer Keroh. “In addition, the state government is empha sising enhancing community sports facilities across all state constituencies,” he said. – Bernama

munity,” he said. Shanmugam said this when met by reporters at the closing and presentation of prizes to the winners of the 2025 Malacca Games by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh on Monday night. Also present was State Secretary Datuk Azhar Arshad. Commenting further, Shanmugam said the state government would continue to organise the Malacca Games as an annual event following the very encouraging response, especially among the youth. He said the initiative would not only provide opportunities for youths to be actively involved in sports but would also strengthen ties between leaders and constituents in their respective con stituencies. “Next year, another sporting event, table ten nis, will be introduced to diversify participation and attract more people to join the Malacca

MPM seeks RM20m to develop para athletes

THE Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPM) has requested an allocation of RM20 million from the Ministry of Youth and Sports for 2026 to strengthen the country’s para sports development programme. Its president, Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin, said the amount was considered realistic following the excellent performance displayed by para athletes throughout this year, including at the recent 2025 Asian Youth Para Games (AYPG) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). “For development, we need at least RM20 million. These para athletes have proven their capabilities in terms of performance and merit, so an appropriate allocation is very appropriate. “We do not want the momentum and development of athletes to stagnate when their performance is currently on the right track. This fund should be evaluated based on merit and achievement,” he said. He said this to reporters after the ceremony of handing over the games’ winning incentives by automotive company Chery to AYPG athletes at the National Sports Council (MSN) yesterday. At the ceremony, Chery handed over incentives totalling RM208,000 to athletes who won medals in the games. The Minister of Youth and

Sports Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari presented the incentives to the athletes involved. At AYPG 2025, the national contingent recorded the best achievement by winning 14 gold medals, 13 silver and 13 bronze medals for a total of 39 medals. Meanwhile, teenage para swimmer, Elysha Cheong Hui Yin emerged as the recipient of the highest incentive totaling RM32,000 after winning four gold medals in the S10 (physical disability) freestyle event 100 and 400 metres, 100m breaststroke and butterfly and a bronze in the 200m individual medley. For Elysha, she described the success as an unexpected achievement when she also managed to renew her personal records in each event she participated in. “I can do better of course. My training is probably not enough. I can do more and I can do better personal best records of course. But I’m also really proud of myself because this is my first time in international competition. So yeah, I’m overall really satisfied with my results,” she said. At the same time, she also set a target to be among the elite para swimmers before the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games to qualify her to participate in the prestigious games. – Bernama

Badminton legend honoured BAM president Tengku Zafrul Aziz (right) presented a special contribution to Datuk Sylvia Ng yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

THE Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has presented a spe cial contribution to national badmin ton legend Datuk Sylvia Ng as a mark of respect and appreciation for her service and legacy in the develop ment of Malaysian badminton. BAM President Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said that this extraordinary contribution was pre sented to recognise her as a two time National Sportswoman of the Year (1975 and 1978), further cementing her position as a national sports icon. Tengku Zafrul noted that the leg end made history as the first Asian woman to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal in badminton singles, as well as the first Malaysian female athlete to secure a Commonwealth gold medal at the 1978 Edmonton Games in Canada. He added that he and the BAM Welfare Committee Chairman Datuk Ng Chin Chai were honoured to visit and exchange stories with the leg

end, whom he described as one of the pioneers of Malaysian women’s badminton success. “May Datuk Sylvia Ng’s legacy continue to inspire the younger gen eration to value history, respect pio neers, and continue the struggle to bring glory to Malaysia. Legacy is not measured by medals alone, but by the path cleared for the next genera tion,” he said via an Instagram post yesterday. In the same post, Tengku Zafrul clarified that the visit was made in light of media reports regarding issues with National Sportsman and Sportswoman rewards that went unreceived by several athletes from various sports, including for the years 1975 and 1978. “While the matter falls outside the jurisdiction of BAM, the associa tion has stepped forward to present this special contribution as a sign of recognition for Datuk Sylvia Ng’s service and legacy to national sports,” he said. – Bernama

KRW’s Cup hopes hinge on their final match KELANTAN Red Warriors (KRW) FC is relying entirely on their final match of the first round of the A1 Semi Pro League to secure a slot in this season’s Malaysia Cup. Saturday. Now, there is only one match left, and we must win,” he told Bernama recently.

providing a boost of confidence ahead of the deci sive match. “I see the team spirit is positive. The players realise the importance of this match, and we want the full three points. They need to play with high focus and fight until the end to ensure KRW qualifies for the Malaysia Cup,” he said. KRW is competing with four other teams – Perak FA, Armed Forces, UM-Damansara United, and Kedah FA – to seize the three remaining slots for the Malaysia Cup, which is scheduled to kick off next January. – Bernama

He added that the nearly week-long training period is being fully utilized to rectify the team’s weaknesses, particularly in the attacking depart ment, following their failure to capitalize on several golden opportunities in the previous match. After 14 matches, KRW FC currently sits in eighth place in the A1 Semi-Pro League standings with 23 points from six wins, five draws, and three losses. Irfan Bakti noted that player morale remains high despite only achieving a draw in their last outing,

Head Coach Irfan Bakti Abu Salim stated that his team has no choice but to record a victory over Bunga Raya in the match scheduled for Dec 30 at the IRC Arena, Sendayan, to ensure qualification for the prestigious tournament. “We missed the chance to qualify automatically after only managing a 2-2 draw against Immigration FC II at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium last