16/01/2026

SPORTS FRIDAY | JAN 16, 2026

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T HE Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) remains optimistic about retaining its overall champions status at the 2027 SEA Games to be hosted by Malaysia, with a clear planning framework and timeline already in place to ensure medal targets are achieved. Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari said the national contingent’s suc cess at the SEA Games in Thailand last December has served as a catalyst for more comprehensive preparations ahead of the biennial Games. “ InsyaAllah , we will not waver. We are very optimistic about retaining the championship (as in 2017) and our ranking. We will ensure Malaysia emerge as the best at the 2027 SEA Games. “Our timeline is clear and we need the coop eration of all teams under the KBS. I am confident that with this strong team combination, we can move towards that goal,” he told reporters after the Youth and Sports minister’s address at the National Sports Council (MSN) yesterday. He stressed that hosting the 2027 SEA Games is not only important in terms of sporting achieve ments but also reflects the confidence of the inter

Winning blueprint KBS optimistic about securing top spot at 2027 Games

CARABAO CUP (semifinal, 1st leg) : Chelsea 2 (Garnacho 57, 83) Arsenal 3 (White 7, Gyokeres 49, Zubimendi 71) . COPA DEL REY (last 16) : Albacete 3 (Villar 42, Jefte 82, 90+4) Real Madrid 2 (Mastantuono 45+3, Gonzalo Garcia 90+1) , Real Betis 2 (Avila 68, 80) Elche 1 (Petrot 58) , Alaves 2 (Martinez 49, Vicente 89) Rayo Vallecano 0. SERIE A: Inter Milan 1 (Esposito 78) Lecce 0, Napoli 0 Parma 0. P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 20 15 1 4 43 17 46 AC Milan 19 11 7 1 30 15 40 Napoli 20 12 4 4 30 17 40 Juventus 20 11 6 3 32 16 39 Roma 20 13 0 7 24 12 39 Como 19 9 7 3 27 13 34 Atalanta 20 8 7 5 25 19 31 Lazio 20 7 7 6 21 16 28 Bologna 19 7 6 6 26 20 27 Udinese 20 7 5 8 22 32 26 Sassuolo 20 6 5 9 23 27 23 Torino 20 6 5 9 21 32 23 Cremonese 20 5 7 8 20 28 22 Parma 20 5 7 8 14 22 22 Genoa 20 4 7 9 22 29 19 Cagliari 20 4 7 9 21 30 19 Lecce 20 4 5 1113 28 17 Fiorentina 20 2 8 1021 31 14 Verona 19 2 7 1015 31 13 Pisa 20 1 10 9 15 30 13 BUNDESLIGA: Cologne 1 Bayern Munich 3, RB Leipzig 2 Freiburg 0, Hoffenheim 5 Borussia Moencheng ladbach 1, Wolfsburg 2 St Pauli 1. P W D L F A Pts B. Munich 17 15 2 0 66 13 47 Dortmund 17 10 6 1 32 15 36 RB Leipzig 16 10 2 4 32 19 32 Stuttgart 17 10 2 5 32 25 32 Hoffenheim 16 9 3 4 34 21 30 Leverkusen 16 9 2 5 34 24 29 Frankfurt 17 7 5 5 35 36 26 Freiburg 17 6 5 6 27 29 23 Union Berlin 16 6 4 6 22 25 22 M’gladbach 17 5 4 8 23 29 19 Wolfsburg 17 5 3 9 26 37 18 Cologne 17 4 5 8 25 29 17 Bremen 16 4 5 7 18 31 17 Hamburg 16 4 4 8 17 27 16 Augsburg 16 4 2 1017 32 14 Mainz 17 2 6 9 17 29 12 StPauli 16 3 3 1014 28 12 Heidenheim 17 3 3 11 16 38 12 AFCON (semifinals) : Senegal 1 (Mane 78) Egypt 0, Morocco 0 Nigeria 0 – aet (Morocco won 4-2 on penalties) . Aaron-Wooi Yik into India quarters NATIONAL top men’s doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik cruised into the quarterfinals of the India Open Badminton Championship defeating Japanese pair Takumi Nomura-Yuichi Shimogami 21-9, 23-21 at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex yesterday. Meanwhile, professional mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat–Shevon Jemie Lai also advanced to the quar terfinals after defeating Thailand’s Ruttanapak Oupthong-Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat yesterday. In the second round action held at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, the tournament’s eighth-seed pair recov ered from losing the first set 17-21 before recording a 21-15, 21-6 victory in 52 minutes. The victory saw Soon Huat-Shevon scheduled to meet the top seeded pair from China, Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping, in the quarterfinals. Earlier, the Chinese pair eliminated the national professional mixed dou bles, Jimmy Wong–Lai Pei Jing, 18-21, 21-17, 21-10. – Bernama RESULTS & STANDINGS

champions after collecting 145 gold, 92 silver and 86 bronze medals. Meanwhile, Mohammed Taufiq confirmed that the athlete centre developed for the use of national athletes has been fully completed and is scheduled to be officially opened next month. “We have also established an athlete centre at the MSN so that athletes can relax and rest in a conducive environment to safeguard their mental health,” he said. Earlier in his speech, Mohammed Taufiq said approval has also been granted for the expansion of the incentive scheme to cover Youth Sports Games, Deaf Sports Games as well as Major Para Sports Championships. – Bernama THE National Sports Council (MSN) has stressed that there is still sufficient time to prepare for the organisation of the 2026 Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL). MSN Director-General Jefri Ngadirin explained that the current main focus is to ensure that the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (PKBM) has a team of riders ready to compete in the LTdL on home soil. “Don’t worry, we still have plenty of time. Last year, we only began discussions in April. Organisation is not a major issue as we have previously received recognition as the best organiser. The issue now is the approval of funding from the government. Once approval is obtained, we will be ready. “We will submit the application to the Cabinet soon for the organisation of the 2026 edition and beyond. In that paper, we will include organisational aspects. Wait another two to three weeks for the Cabinet’s decision. The government has allocated RM12 million for the years 2023, 2024 and 2025,” he told reporters at the MSN yester day. He also said collaboration between the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry as the main spon sor of the LTdL has been in place since the 2023 edition, and confirmation on who will be appointed organiser for the 2026 edition will only be known after the Cabinet’s deci sion. MSN began handling the organisation of the LTdL in 2023, with the most recent edi tion in 2025 being the final year of MSN’s contract as organiser, while questions over the continuity of the collaboration remain unanswered to date. In another development, MSN said plan ning related to the addition of new badmin ton coaches will only be known in the near future. “For badminton, we will be holding a workshop on Jan 22 and 23, followed by the Working Committee meeting in early February to discuss the details of their plan ning. – Bernama Enough time to host LTdL: MSN

national community in Malaysia’s leadership in organising international-standard sporting events. At the Thailand 2025 edition, Malaysia rebounded to collect 57 gold, 57 silver and 117 bronze medals, ending the campaign with a total of 231 medals. The tally surpassed the earlier target of 200 medals and set a new record for the highest over all medal haul at a SEA Games held outside Kuala Lumpur, surpassing the previous record of 216 medals set at the 2007 edition in Korat, Thailand. The last time Malaysia hosted the Games in 2017, the national contingent emerged as overall

JDT edge Kuching City

JDT’s Bergson’s (bottom, right) shot was blocked by Kuching City’s Tanigawa (left) on Wednesday. – BERNAMAPIC

JOHOR DARUL TA’ZIM (JDT) maintained their unbeaten run in the 2025/26 Super League after edg ing Kuching City FC 2-1 in their 15th match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri on Wednesday night. JDT dominated possession from the opening min ute and created several dangerous chances but it was Kuching City who pulled off a surprise in the 41st min ute when Scott Woods finished off a move from a pass by Muhammad Ramadhan Saifullah Usman. Early in the second half, both sides continued to produce promising attempts, but JDT were reduced to 10 men in the 55th minute when captain Natxo Insa was shown a red card after a VAR review found him guilty of a bad foul on Scott Woods. However, JDT responded three minutes later when Ignacio Mendez scored the equaliser with a strike from outside the penalty area. JDT then sealed victory in the 64th minute when Bergson da Silva netted the team’s second goal from Manuel Hidalgo’s pass inside the penalty area. Meanwhile, Penang FC secured a narrow victory over Kuala Lumpur City FC at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras, courtesy of a 36th-minute goal by Faith Obilor. At the Hang Jebat Stadium in Krubong, Melaka FC’s emphatic 3-0 victory over PDRM FC in the Super League has provided a crucial morale boost as the side continues its adjustment process, said head

coach E. Elavarasan. He said the three full points were especially impor tant to lift the players’ spirits after a long wait for a win. “Our strength tonight was the players’commitment and fighting spirit. Three points were the main objec tive and this clean sheet gives the players confidence, especially when playing at home. “The team has not fully settled down yet, and the players are still adapting to the tactical plans being implemented, but their high level of commitment was clearly evident throughout the match,” he said when met after the game here last night. Elavarasan added that the team is still in the process of tactical adjustment due to the presence of many new players, and that the physical and technical aspects are still being evaluated to ensure consistent performances in upcoming matches. “We are still in the phase of identifying the team’s strengths because we have yet to face truly solid oppo nents. Attacking performance is very important because you can’t win matches without scoring,” he said. The win saw Melaka remain 12th in the Super League standings with nine points, while PDRM stayed rooted to the bottom of the table with just six point Selangor FC claimed a 1-0 win over Negeri Sembilan. The victory saw Kim Pan Gon’s charges climb to second place in the Super League standings. – Bernama

TSG to field five new faces this year THE UCI Continental cycling team Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) is fielding five new faces to face tougher challenges this season. Britain; Juan Pedro Lozano Navarro (Spain); Pierre Barbier (Netherlands) and Fergus Browning (Australia).

Mohd Shabri. Meanwhile, Che Ku Mohd Izham said that TSG, which is based in Kuala Terengganu, finished the 2025 season as the third best team in Asia, the fifth best team in the continent and ranked 37th out of 206 world class teams. According to him, for the 2026 season, TSG aims to reclaim the throne as the best team in Asia, be in the top three groups in the conti nent and achieve a podium finish in the LTdL race, which is a Pro 2.0 class. – Bernama

which was the first professional vic tory in his profile,” he said at the TSG 2026 Team Introduction Ceremony yesterday. Che Ku Mohd Izham said that apart from the new players, TSG has also lined up 10 other riders to com pete in about 30 races this season. The seven local riders listed are Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Marzuki, Wan Abdul Rahman Hamdan, Mohamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff, Muhammad Shahmir Aiman Abd Halim, Kee Zhe Yie; Muhammad Nur Rosli and Muhammad Haizam

“The selection of riders is based on their reputation in their fields of expertise and achievements at the national and international levels. “For example, Zeb Kyffin was once crowned the United Kingdom (UK) Domestic Rider of the Year in 2023 after showing excellent per formance at the domestic and inter national levels. He also emerged as the champion of the 7th stage of the 2025 Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL),

TSG chief executive officer Che Ku Mohd Izmuddin Che Ku Mahmood said it involved four imported riders and one local stal wart who was absorbed from the TSG Cycling Academy into the elite squad. He said the local rider was Muhammad Qayyim Mohd Saipul Anuwai while the imported stal warts included Zeb Kyffin from Great