09/01/2026

FRIDAY | JAN 9, 2026

31

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

SPORTS

Golden start for ‘The Pocket Rocketman’

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Bourne mouth 3 (Evanilson 22, Kroupi 36, Semenyo 90+5) Tottenham 2 (Tel 5, Palhinha 78) , Brentford 3 (Thiago 30, 65, Yarmolyuk 73) Sunderland 0, Burnley 2 (Heaven 13-og, Anthony 66) Manchester United 2 (Sesko 50, 60) , Crystal Palace 0 Aston Villa 0, Everton 1 (Keane 17) Wolves 1 (Mane 69) , Fulham 2 (Jimenez 55, Wilson 81) Chelsea 1 (Delap 72) , Manchester City 1 (Haaland 41-pen) Brighton 1 (Mitoma 60) , Newcastle 4 (Barnes 36, 90+12, Joelinton 54, Guimaraes 90+1-pen) Leeds 3 (Aaronson 32, 79, Calvert-Lewin 45+5-pen) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 20 15 3 2 40 14 48 Man City 21 13 4 4 45 19 43 Aston Villa 21 13 4 4 33 24 43 Liverpool 20 10 4 6 32 28 34 Brentford 21 10 3 8 35 28 33 Newcastle 21 9 5 7 32 27 32 Man Utd 21 8 8 5 36 32 32 Chelsea 21 8 7 6 34 24 31 Fulham 21 9 4 8 30 30 31 Sunderland 21 7 9 5 21 22 30 Brighton 21 7 8 6 31 28 29 Everton 21 8 5 8 23 25 29 Crystal Palace 21 7 7 7 22 23 28 Tottenham 21 7 6 8 30 27 27 Bournemouth 21 6 8 7 34 40 26 Leeds 21 5 7 9 29 37 22 Nottm Forest 21 6 3 12 21 34 21 West Ham 21 3 5 13 22 43 14 Burnley 21 3 4 14 22 41 13 Wolves 21 1 4 16 15 41 7 SERIE A: Bologna 0 Atalanta 2 (Krstovic 37, 60) , Lazio 2 (Cataldi 52, Pedro 90+5 pen) Fiorentina 2 (Gosens 56, Gudmunds son 89-pen) , Napoli 2 (McTominay 54, Di Lorenzo 82) Verona 2 (Frese 17, Orban 27 pen) , Parma 0 Inter Milan 2 (Dimarco 44, Thuram 90+8) , Torino 1 (Casadei 87) Udinese 2 (Zaniolo 50, Ekkelenkamp 82) . P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 18 14 0 4 40 15 42 AC Milan 17 11 5 1 28 13 38 Napoli 18 12 2 4 28 15 38 Juventus 19 10 6 3 27 16 36 Roma 19 12 0 7 22 12 36 Como 18 9 6 3 26 12 33 Atalanta 19 7 7 5 23 19 28 Bologna 18 7 5 6 25 19 26 Lazio 19 6 7 6 20 16 25 Udinese 19 7 4 8 20 30 25 Sassuolo 19 6 5 8 23 25 23 Torino 19 6 5 8 21 30 23 Cremonese 18 5 6 7 18 21 21 Cagliari 18 4 6 8 19 25 18 Parma 18 4 6 8 12 21 18 Lecce 18 4 5 9 12 25 17 Genoa 18 3 6 9 18 28 15 Verona 18 2 7 9 15 30 13 Fiorentina 19 2 7 10 20 30 13 Pisa 19 1 9 9 13 28 12 SPANISH SUPER CUP (semifinal) : Barce lona 5 (Torres 22, Lopez 30, Bardghji 34, Raphinha 38, 52) Athletic Bilbao 0. Lee No We Bu Wo SE 37, pen

NATIONAL track cyclist Datuk Azizulhasni Awang started this season’s campaign on the right foot when he topped the podium in the men’s elite sprint event at the Asean Track Series (President’s Cup) 1 at National Velodrome yesterday. The cyclist, better known as “The Pocket Rocketman”, won the gold medal after defeating South Korean rider Kim Geunwoo in the final race. Earlier, the final race saw a 1-1 draw before Azizulhasni confirmed victory in the deciding race. Azizulhasni, who is currently competing as an independent cyclist with Team Azizul, said his suc cess was important to face several major tourna

Hei To from Hong Kong. In other developments, Azizulhasni is confident that national rider Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom will return to action with better perform ance after the country’s elite rider fully recovered from a right knee injury. Meanwhile, national riders dominated the women’s elite sprint event with Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri beating teammate Nurul Alyssa Farid to the gold medal in the final race. The bronze medal went to Anis Amira Rosidi who beat another teammate, Yong Ann Tung. – Bernama

ments in the first quarter of this year as well as preparations for the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. “ Alhamdulillah , today’s result is as I expected… it wasn’t an easy path, but the support of the team and the fans here boosted my spirit on home ground. “We have competed in New Zealand before, so today’s race was a little tricky because he knew my tactics and I needed to make a few adjustments, overall it’s a good race,” he told reporters yesterday. The bronze medal in the event went to national rider Muhammad Ridwan Sahrom, who beat Cheuk

National men’s doubles players Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in action against China’s Chen Xu Jun and Liu Yang (not pictured) at the 2026 Malaysia Open at the Axiata Arena Stadium yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

Joy and sorrow Aaron-Wooi Yik dig deep, Wei Chong-Kai Wun cruise into quarters

N ATIONAL top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik battled their way into the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open 2026 yesterday at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil. The second seeds were taken the distance before prevailing over China’s Chen Xu Jun and Liu Yang 14-21, 21-14, 21-14 in 62 minutes in the sea son opener. Wooi Yik admitted they were prepared for a stern test, particularly against unfamiliar oppo nents. “We knew the Chinese pair would not be easy to beat, so we had to be ready for that. We did not underestimate them,” he told reporters in a post match interview yesterday. The world No. 2 pair will next face either Indonesia’s eighth seeds Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani or South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk and Ki Dong Ju in the quarter-finals today. Also advancing to the quarters were compatriots and fifth seeds Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun, who thrashed Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita 21-9, 21-15 in just 29 minutes. However, Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King saw their campaign come to an end after going Yeoh receives award from Istaf MINISTER in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh received the International Sepaktakraw Federation’s (Istaf) Distinguished Service Award yesterday. Citing the certificate presented to Hannah, Istaf said the award was in honour of her ministerial leadership and sig nificant contributions to hosting and developing international sepak takraw tournaments in Malaysia during her previous tenure as Youth and Sports minister. “This award is presented with the deepest appreciation for her exemplary public service, visionary leadership and lasting impact on the advancement of international sepak takraw. In her capacity as Youth and Sports minister, Hannah Yeoh provided decisive institutional support and strate BRIEFS

bowed out in the second round yesterday. The unseeded Jun Hao went down 18-21, 11-21 to Indonesia’s fourth seed Jonatan Christie in a match that lasted just five minutes short of an hour. Today’s loss also meant Malaysia’s men’s singles title drought at the Malaysia Open was extended to six consecutive editions. The last time Malaysia had a representative in the quarterfinals was Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei in 2018, which also saw him clinch the title. On Tuesday, Lee Zii Jia crashed out in the open ing round, losing to India’s Ayush Shetty 12-21, 17 21 in 39 minutes. National mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have urged Malaysian fans to remain patient and continue backing their fellow shuttlers follow ing their victory over teammates Hoo Pang Ron Cheng Su Yin 21-13, 23-21 in the second round yes terday. Tang Jie-Ee Wei will next face Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet, with the Malaysian pair holding a positive head-to-head record, having won two of their three previous meetings. Meanwhile, national professional mixed dou bles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie were knocked out after losing 9-21, 17-21 to United States duo Presley Smith-Jennie Gai. – Bernama Jakarta from Jan 27 to Feb 7, as he is well acquainted with the current players and under stands the playing philosophy previously imple mented by Rakphol,” the statement said. “Addie Azwan, a national futsal player between 2002 and 2010, holds the record as the most capped player and the all-time top scorer for the Harimau Malaya futsal squad.” Addie Azwan’s first test as Harimau Malaya futsal head coach at the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup will see Malaysia taking on Iran on Jan 28, Afghanistan on Jan 30 and Saudi Arabia on Feb 1 in Group D. Negative inpact on Malaysia THE absence of Cambodia is expected to affect Malaysia’s medal haul at the 2026 Asean Para Games, which will be held in Korat, Thailand, from Jan 20 to 26. Malaysia’s chef de mission (CDM)

down 18-21, 11-21 to India’s third seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in 39 minutes. Professional duo Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani also bowed out after suffering their second consecutive defeat to England’s Ben Lane and Sean Vendy, losing 13-21, 17-21. Meanwhile, fresh from their Thailand 2025 SEA Games success, national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah were defeated by Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspitasari yesterday. World No. 2 Pearly-Thinaah trailed 1-11 in the opening game before losing 24-26, and failed to recover in the second game, going down 17-21 in the 54-minute match. “Of course, there is disappointment, but win ning and losing are normal for athletes. They pre pared very well for today, and they played better than us. “This is something we have to accept and go back to discuss how we can change and improve our style of play,” Pearly told reporters after the match. Malaysia’s men’s singles challenge at the Malaysia Open was out of the picture early again. This came after national shuttler Leong Jun Hao gic policy leadership for the 2024 Istaf World Cup, held from 18 to 26 May 2024 at Stadium Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur, and for Malaysia’s continued com mitment to hosting the Istaf World Cup 2026 in Kuala Lumpur from 15 to 24 May, 2026,” the certifi cate read. Addie Azwan replaces Rakphol THE Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) yester day announced that Malaysian futsal legend Addie Azwan Zainal has been officially appointed as the new national futsal head coach, replacing Rakphol Sainetngam. The 45-year-old was previously the assistant national futsal head coach since Rakphol took charge of the Harimau Malaya futsal squad in August 2023.“Addie Azwan is the most suitable and qualified candidate to lead the Harimau Malaya fut sal squad to the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup in

Mohd Zarrawi Ravi Abdullah said Cambodia’s absence from the event meant that several impairment classes might be combined in a single event to offset the lack of participants. “Looking at the schedule we received, Cambodia is indeed not taking part. My concern is that there may be class combinations, which could affect the ath letes involved. Take blind football as an example – there were supposed to be four teams, but now there are only three. So medals will only be awarded to the champion and runner-up,” he said after a visit to the athletics training centre at the Malaysian Sports Council yesterday. However, Mohd Zarrawi Ravi said the Malaysian contingent is prepared to face the situation and is making the best possible preparations. He expressed hope that the athletes representing the country at the games would perform to their best to bring hon our to Malaysia.