08/01/2026

SPORTS THURSDAY | JAN 8, 2026

31

SEA Games rematch for Pearly-Thinaah

Zii Jia sets benchmarks for national duty NATIONAL professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia has stressed that he remains ready to don the national jersey if his services are required, but has placed personal performance standards as his main priority before making any commitment, particularly ahead of major tournaments such as the Thomas Cup and Asian Games this year. Zii Jia said that although he is aware many view his presence as crucial to the national squad, he does not wish to be selected merely to make up the numbers without being fully prepared to provide a genuine advantage for Malaysia. “For me, I will definitely always be ready if they need me. But for myself, I think my expectations are slightly different. I need to be back at least 70 to 80% before I feel confident to represent the country at the Thomas Cup because, to be honest, if they put me as the third singles, I don’t think it’s an advantage,”he told reporters when met at the Axiata Arena yesterday. Zii Jia said several tournaments on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) calendar will serve as key benchmarks to assess his overall readiness before considering any involvement with the national team. The 28-year-old’s return to competitive action in the Malaysian Open 2026 yesterday, after a 111-day layoff, ended in disappointment when he was eliminated by India’s Ayush Shetty 12-21, 17-21 in 39 minutes. Following the match, Zii Jia admitted that he is still far from his best form, estimating his current performance level at around 50 to 60%. – Bernama

HERE we go again. The stage is set for a familiar showdown as national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah booked a rematch of the SEA Games Thailand 2025 final against Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspitasari in the second round of the Malaysia Open 2026 today. The second seeds Pearly-Thinaah kicked off the campaign in convincing fashion as they cruised past Rutaparna Panda Swetaparna Panda of India 21-11, 21-9 in 30 minutes at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, yesterday. Despite holding an unblemished 4-0 record against the Indonesian pair, Pearly cautioned that past results would count for little in tomorrow’s encounter.

Malaysia Open debut in 2022, describing the moment as especially meaningful in front of the home fans. “We were also disappointed that we couldn’t give fans a chance to see us in the second round (of the previous three editions). So this year we really focused on our gameplay and that really helped a lot,” she said. Thinaah, meanwhile, hopes to keep the momentum going and perform stronger as they bid to reach the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open for the first time in their career. Earlier, world No. 60 Febriana-Meilysa booked their second-round spot after defeating India’s Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand Pullela 21-9, 21-23, 21-19. – Bernama

“We have to prepare physically and mentally well, rest and eat well and try to focus for tomorrow’s match,” she told reporters in a post-match interview at the mixed zone. The 2025 World Championships runners up proved their mettle just last month when they delivered Malaysia’s sole badminton gold medal at the SEA Games Thailand 2025, prevailing over the same opponents 21-16, 19-21, 21-17 in a gripping final. More importantly, yesterday’s victory ended a frustrating run at the Malaysia Open, with the world No. 2 pair finally advancing beyond the opening round after three consecutive opening round exits. Pearly admitted the relief of making it into the second round for the first time since their

Sick but still standing

National mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie in action against Taiwan’s Wu Guan Xun-Lee Chia Hsin in the second round of the 2026 Malaysia Open at the Axiata Arena yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

Battling illness, Soon Huat Shevon grind comeback win

RESULTS & STANDINGS ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: West Ham 1 (Murillo 13-og) Nottingham Forest 2 (Dominguez 55, Gibbs-White 89-pen) . 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 21 6 3 12 21 34 21 West Ham 21 3 5 1322 43 14 Burnley 20 3 3 1420 39 12 Wolves 20 1 3 1614 40 6 SERIE A: Pisa 0 Como 3 (Perrone 68, Douvikas 76, 90+6-pen) , Lecce 0 Roma 2 (Ferguson 14, Dovbyk 71) , Sassuolo 0 Juventus 3 (Muharemovic 16-og, Miretti 62, J. David 63) . 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 19 10 6 3 27 16 36 Roma 19 12 0 7 22 12 36 Como 18 9 6 3 26 12 33 Bologna 17 7 5 5 25 17 26 Atalanta 18 6 7 5 21 19 25 Lazio 18 6 6 6 18 14 24 Torino 18 6 5 7 20 28 23 Sassuolo 19 6 5 8 23 25 23 Udinese 18 6 4 8 18 29 22 Cremonese 18 5 6 7 18 21 21 Parma 17 4 6 7 12 19 18 Cagliari 18 4 6 8 19 25 18 Lecce 18 4 5 9 12 25 17 Genoa 18 3 6 9 18 28 15 Verona 17 2 6 9 13 28 12 Fiorentina 18 2 6 1018 28 12 Pisa 19 1 9 9 13 28 12 AFCON (Last 16) : Algeria 1 (Boulbina 119) DR Congo 0 - aet, Ivory Coast 3 (Diallo 20, Diomande 32, Toure 87) Burk ina Faso 0.

309/26

07/01/2026

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2807 3452 5517 7431 5944

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2703 0430 9068 3384 6695

8218 7295 8844 3980 5194

S ICK, sleep-deprived and still stand ing. Professional mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie dug deep to book their place in the second round of the Malaysia Open 2026 with a gritty comeback win at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur yesterday. The eighth seeds overturned a first-game loss to edge past Taiwan’s Wu Guan Xun-Lee Chia Hsin 15-21, 21-19, 21-14 in a 56-minute encounter that tested not just their skills, but their resilience during the first round of the season opener. Soon Huat admitted the match was a tight affair as he and Shevon, who is also his wife, were not in good condition, forcing them to adjust their game plan during the match. “Right from the first set, we were struggling to find their rhythm, because they were the Taiwanese new pair, and we have yet to be able to read them. “Despite losing in the first set, we found a new tactic and were able to protect each other in the next two sets,” he told reporters in a post-match interview at the mixed zone. Soon Huat later revealed that Shevon had suffered food poisoning the night before the match. The 35-year-old said the situation was further complicated by a lack of rest, with him having stayed up to take care of his partner. “She was vomiting all night, and I had to take care of her, so we were both quite exhausted,” he said. He also acknowledged the strong support provided by the home crowd, who roared the pair on during their comeback and prevailed against the unseeded opponents. Yesterday’s win will see the world No. 9 set up a second round clash against American duo Presley Smith-Jennie Gai, who got past

India’s Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto 21-15, 18-21, 21-15. Meanwhile in the men’s singles, a first round victory yesterday provided a timely confidence boost to national shuttler Leong Jun Hao to continue his campaign before home fans. Jun Hao, 26, admitted that his straight-sets win over China’s Wang Zheng Xing, 21-17, 21-17 was far from straightforward with the Malaysian having to dig deep especially in the latter stages to seal the match. “Knowing that my conclusion to last season wasn’t very good, a win to start the year really means a lot. Hopefully tomorrow I can play with more confidence and be more consistent. “I’m satisfied because playing against any Chinese player is never easy. To win in two games, I’m really happy with my performance today,” he said after the match. At last year’s edition, Jun Hao exited in the opening round after losing to another Chinese opponent, Lu Guang Zu, 17-21, 21 16, 13-21. He also endured a difficult run on the BWF World Tour suffering five consecutive first-round defeats starting with the Korea Open 2025 in September. Jun Hao will next face either Taiwan’s Lee Chia Hao or Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the second round. “Regardless of who I play, it’s definitely going to be tough. I need to be more focused and mentally stronger for tomorrow’s match,” he said. Jun Hao is currently Malaysia’s sole remaining men’s singles representative at the tournament after professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia was knocked out in the first round by India’s Ayush Shetty, losing 12-21, 17-21 in 39 minutes yesterday. – Bernama

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