06/01/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | JAN 6, 2026

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J OHOR DARUL TA’ZIM (JDT) continued their excellent run by maintaining their unbeaten record in the Super League this season after defeating Selangor at Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium on Sunday night. The visiting team needed only seven minutes to open the score through Nacho Mendez’s pow erful shot that was deflected by the Selangor defence. Stunned by the early goal, the Red Giants tried to improve their game in pursuit of an equaliser, with several dangerous attacks launched at the JDT defence. Selangor’s efforts almost paid off through striker Chrigor Moraes in the 17th minute but the one-on-one situation was saved by JDT goal keeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi. Selangor FC managed to get a chance through their winger Muhamad Faisal Abdul Halim in the 27th minute but his shot was slightly off target, thus seeing the score remain 1-0 until the first half whistle. In the second half, Selangor continued to show their game style in pursuit of an equaliser but no goals were scored. On the other hand, JDT managed to score their second goal in the match through Bergson Da Silva at the end of the match, thus seeing a 2-0 vic tory for the Southern Tigers. Meanwhile at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, hosts KL City managed to collect all three points after defeating Immigration FC 4-2. The captain of the City squad, Paulo Josue, put his team 1-0 ahead in the first half with his goal in the 31st minute. In the second half, Immigration were aggres sive when they managed to produce two goals through Fadzeul Danel Nizam and Eduardo Sosa respectively in the 47th and 61st minutes. However, the home team equalised again through Josue who managed to score his second goal in the action in the 68th minute. Bad luck befell the Immigration squad in the 70th minute when they had to play with 10 players after Mior Dani Armin Mior Ariffin was shown a red card following a second yellow card, after receiving the first yellow card in the 43rd minute. Risto Vidakovic’s team cheered again when Safawi Rasid found the net in the 76th minute to put KL City back in front. Two minutes later Kpah Sherman added his name as a scorer, thus confirming a 4-2 victory for KL City. – Bernama ‘Tough road to glory for men’s doubles’ FORMER three-time Malaysia Open men’s doubles champion Koo Kien Keat believes this year’s edition will pose a tough challenge for local pairs. Kien Keat said that while Malaysian pairs have a chance of reaching the Malaysia Open 2026 final, winning the title on home soil – last achieved by Goh V Shem and Lim Khim Wah in the 2014 edition – will be a far more difficult task. He attributed this to the consistency dis played by the current world No. 1 South Korean duo, Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae. “To be honest, if you ask me, I think the Korean pair (Won Ho-Seung Jae) are very con sistent and I am quite sure they will be champi ons or at least reach the final. “There is also a chance for Malaysian pairs to make the final, but to win it, I really don’t know,” he said during the Malaysia Open 2026 court testing session at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, KUala Lumpur yesterday. Kien Keat first won the Malaysia Open title with Chan Chong Ming in 2006, followed by two more titles with Tan Boon Heong in 2007 and 2010. The Seung Jae-Won Ho partnership enjoyed a successful season last year, including winning the 2025 World Championships and the 2025 World Tour Finals. Meanwhile, the 40-year-old said he will be assisting independent pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani at this year’s Malaysia Open. He clarified that his role is not as their offi cial coach, but merely to help the current world No. 7 pair regain confidence after a dip in form following their only title last year at the India Open 2025. – Bernama

No let up Southern Tigers start new year with win over Red Giants

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Everton 2 (Beto 66, Barry 90+1) Brentford 4 (Igor Thiago 11, 51, 88, Collins 50) , Fulham 2 (Wilson 17, Reed 90+7) Liverpool 2 (Wirtz 57, Gakpo 90+4) , Leeds 1 (Aaronson 62) Manchester United 1 (Cunha 65) , Manchester City 1 (Reijnders 42) Chel sea 1 (Fernandez 90+4) , Newcastle 2 (Guimaraes 71, Thiaw 78) Crystal Palace 0, Tottenham 1 (Davies 30) Sunderland 1 (Brobbey 80) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 20 15 3 2 40 14 48 Man City 20 13 3 4 44 18 42 Aston Villa 20 13 3 4 33 24 42 Liverpool 20 10 4 6 32 28 34 Chelsea 20 8 7 5 33 22 31 Man Utd 20 8 7 5 34 30 31 Brentford 20 9 3 8 32 28 30 Sunderland 20 7 9 4 21 19 30 Newcastle 20 8 5 7 28 24 29 Brighton 20 7 7 6 30 27 28 Fulham 20 8 4 8 28 29 28 Everton 20 8 4 8 22 24 28 Tottenham 20 7 6 7 28 24 27 Crystal Palace 20 7 6 7 22 23 27 Bournemouth 20 5 8 7 31 38 23 Leeds 20 5 7 8 26 33 22 Nottm Forest 20 5 3 12 19 33 18 West Ham 20 3 5 12 21 41 14 Burnley 20 3 3 14 20 39 12 Wolves 20 1 3 16 14 40 6 CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham 3 Coven try 2, Queens Park Rangers 3 Sheffield Wednesday 0, Sheffield United vs Oxford United postponed, Blackburn Rovers 2 Charlton Athletic 2, Bristol City 0 Preston North End 2, Derby County 1 Wrexham 2, Hull City vs Watford postponed, Middlesbrough 4 Southampton 0, Mill wall 2 Swansea 1, Norwich 0 Stoke 2, Portsmouth vs Ipswich postponed. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Coventry 26 15 7 4 57 29 52 Mid’boro 26 13 7 6 37 26 46 Ipswich 25 12 8 5 42 24 44 Preston 26 11 10 5 36 25 43 Millwall 26 12 7 7 29 33 43 Watford 25 11 8 6 37 29 41 LA LIGA: Sevilla 0 Levante 3 (Losada 45+2, Espi 77, Alvarez 90+4) , Real Madrid 5 (G. Garcia 20, 50, 82, Asencio 56, F. Garcia 90+3) Real Betis 1 (Hernandez 60) , Mallorca 1 (Muriqi 90+1-pen) Girona 2 (Tsygankov 25, Vanat 63-pen) , Alaves 1 (Boye 69) Real Oviedo 1 (Vinas 56) , Real Sociedad 1 (Guedes 55) Atletico Madrid 1 (Sorloth 50) . TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 19 16 1 2 53 20 49 Real Madrid 19 14 3 2 41 17 45 Villarreal 17 12 2 3 34 16 38 Atletico 19 11 5 3 34 17 38 Espanyol 18 10 3 5 22 19 33 Real Betis 18 7 7 4 30 24 28 SERIE A: Lazio 0 Napoli 2 (Spinazzola 13, Rrahmani 32) , Fiorentina 1 (Kean 90+2) Cremonese 0, Verona 0 Torino 3 (Sime one 10, Casadei 87, Njie 90+1) , Inter Milan 3 (Zielinski 39, Martinez 48, Thuram 74) Bologna 1 (Castro 83) . TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 17 13 0 4 38 15 39 AC Milan 17 11 5 1 28 13 38 Napoli 17 12 1 4 26 13 37 Juventus 18 9 6 3 24 16 33 Roma 18 11 0 7 20 12 33 Como 17 8 6 3 23 12 30 FRENCH LIGUE 1: Marseille 0 Nantes 2, Brest 2 Auxerre 0, Lorient 1 Metz 1, Le Havre 2 Angers 1, Paris Saint-Germain 2 Paris FC 1. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Lens 17 13 1 3 31 13 40 Paris SG 17 12 3 2 37 15 39 Marseille 17 10 2 5 36 17 32 Lille 17 10 2 5 33 22 32 Lyon 17 9 3 5 25 17 30 Rennes 17 8 6 3 29 24 30 AFCON (Last 16) : Morocco 1 (Diaz 64) Tanzania 0 , South Africa 1 (Makgopa 88) Cameroon 2 (Tchamadeu 34, Kofane 47) .

Selangor’s Chrigor Flores Moraes (left) is challenged by JDT’s Eddy Silvestre during the Malaysia

Super League match at the

Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium on Sunday night. – BERNAMAPIC

Pearly-Thinaah target Super 1000 title

NATIONAL women’s doubles No. 1 Pearly Tan has set her sights on capturing a Super 1000 World Tour title in the new season, which is set to begin with the Malaysia Open 2026 at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur from today until Jan 11. Pearly, who partners M. Thinaah, said they must carry forward the momentum from last year, which saw them rise to world No. 2 and finish as runners-up at the 2025 World Championships in Paris, if they are to achieve greater success this season. The 25-year-old said they are also aware of the high expectations placed on them to deliver a strong showing at the Malaysia Open 2026 following an impressive 2025 campaign that included titles at the Thailand Open, Arctic Open and Japan Masters. “Of course, expectations will be there and we are also the second seeds. I just hope we can turn

those expectations into motivation to perform well at the Malaysia Open 2026. “We hope to avoid too many ups and downs, maintain consistency and continue to improve throughout the 2026 season,” she told reporters after a court-testing session yesterday. Pearly-Thinaah’s best result at a Super 1000 tournament so far was finishing runners-up at the 2025 Indonesia Open, where they lost to China’s Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning 23-25, 12-21, 19 21. Pearly also hopes she and Thinaah can put an end to a run of three consecutive early exits from the Malaysia Open between 2023 and last year by advancing further in this edition. However, she said they would not take lightly their opening-round challenge against world No. 53 Indian pair Rutaparna Panda-Swetaparna Panda in the Super 1000 tournament. – Bernama

Ee Wei hopes for injury-free, enjoyable 2026 NATIONAL mixed doubles shuttler Toh Ee Wei hopes 2026 will be a year marked by good health, better balance and renewed enjoyment on court. Admitting that expectations and self-imposed pressure have taken a toll in recent times, Ee Wei said she is now focused on easing that burden and rediscovering the joy of playing the sport she loves. “Recently, we have put too much pressure on ourselves, but we hope to enjoy playing badminton more,” she told reporters yesterday after a court testing session ahead of the Malaysia Open 2026. After being crowned 2025 world champions in Paris last August with partner Chen Tang Jie, the pair have won only one title since – the Australian Open 2025 last November – and had to settle for a bronze medal at the SEA Games Thailand 2025 last month despite being fielded as the top seeds. Asked about their expectations for the Malaysia Open 2026, Ee Wei said she hopes to deliver their best performance in the season opener and bring joy to home fans. Beyond personal goals, the 25-year-old also hopes badminton will continue to unite Malaysians, believing the sport can inspire greater appreciation when played with freedom and passion. On their opening match against Indonesia’s Jafar Hidayatullah and Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu, Tang Jie expects a tough contest despite holding a perfect 6-0 head-to-head record. “It is always tough playing against them, but we will be ready and give our all to try to win,” he said. – Bernama