22/01/2026

SPORTS THURSDAY | JAN 22, 2026

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World champs hang tough Tang Jie-Ee Wei endure hour-long test to reach second round

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (League phase) : Kairat Almaty 1 (Sadybekov 90+2) Club Brugge 4 (Stankovic 32, Vanaken 38, Vermant 74, Mechele 84) , Bodo/Glimt 3 (Hogh 22, 24, Hauge 58) Manchester City 1 (Cherki 60) , Copenhagen 1 (Larsson 72) Napoli 1 (McTominay 39) , Inter Milan 1 (Sucic 18) Arsenal 3 (Jesus 10, 31, Gyokeres 84) , Olympiacos 2 (Costinha 2, Taremi 45,+1) Bayer Leverkusen 0, Real Madrid 6 (Mbappe 5, 26, Mastantuono 51, Kehrer 55-og, Vinicius Junior 63, Belling ham 80) Monaco 1 (Teze 72) , Sporting Lisbon 2 (Suarez 74, 90) Paris Saint Germain 1 (Kvaratskhelia 79) , Totten ham Hotspur 2 (Romero 14, Solanke 37) Borussia Dortmund 0, Villarreal 1 (Oluwaseyi 49) Ajax 2 (Gloukh 61, Edvard sen 90) . ENGLISH FA CUP (3rd round) : Salford 3 Swindon 2. RESULTS NSFC’s erratic performance needs fixing: MB NEGERI SEMBILAN FC’s (NSFC) “yo-yo” per formance requires a comprehensive trans formation to ensure the team can reach a more competitive level, said Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun. Aminuddin, who is also NSFC chairman, said the team’s performance remains incon sistent despite various forms of support, including additional financial allocations. He said support had been provided, including the approval of extra funds for the recruitment of new players, but per formance stability has yet to be achieved. “NSFC’s performance is okay, but it is still ‘yo-yo’. We hope there will be the right deci sions so that this ‘yo-yo’ situation can be stopped. We have increased the allocation to NSFC because they want to bring in sev eral new players during the second transfer window. “We hope that in the next one or two matches, the players, coaches and manage ment will be more focused. We want to see fighting spirit not only at home but the same spirit when playing away,” he told reporters after chairing the state executive council meeting in Seremban yesterday. Aminuddin stressed that the manage ment, coaching staff and players must ensure a positive impact is achieved, add ing that sufficient time has been given to the team and the current priority is to improve team spirit and collective commit ment. He said winning is not an absolute demand in every match, but the players’ commitment and determination are crucial, while acknowledging that the team’s tacti cal aspects have yet to reach the expected level. NSFC have suffered two Super League defeats, losing 1-0 to Johor Darul Ta’zim and Selangor FC, and most recently were held to a goalless draw by Immigration FC. – Bernama

N ATIONAL top mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei weathered an early storm before battling past China’s Zhu Yi Jun-Li Qian to secure their passage into the second round of the Indonesia Masters 2026 at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, yesterday.

No. 4 Tang Jie-Ee Wei raised the tempo in the rub ber set and pulled away decisively for a crushing 21-10 win in 56 minutes. The reigning world champions will next face either Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul-Sapsiree Taerattanachai or Indonesian pair Amri Syahnawi Nita Violina Marwah. In an earlier match, mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron–Cheng Su Yin advanced through the first round after defeating Thailand’s Phuwanat Horbanluekit–Benyapa Aimsaard 13-21, 21-6, 21 17. Awaiting them in the second round are either the Chinese pair of Guo Xin Wa-Chen Fang Hui or Liu Kuang Heng-Jheng Yu Chieh of Taiwan. Meanwhile, the fight of another national mixed doubles team, Jimmy Wong–Lai Pei Jing, came to a halt in the first round. Jimmy–Pei Jing lost to the home pair of Dejan Ferdinansyah–Bernadine Anindya Wardana 10-21, 17-21. It was a tournament to forget for professional duo Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie, as the sev enth seeds suffered a surprise exit after going down 21-18, 18-21, 20-22 to unseeded home pair Adnan Maulana-Indah Cahya Sari Jamil. – Bernama

During the opening round of Super 500 tourney, the third seeds edged a tight opening set 21-19, but the contest swung dramatically when the unseeded Chinese duo fought back to steal the second set 22 20, pushing the match into a decisive showdown. Refusing to let the match slip away, the world

A trophy like no other KBS Sec-Gen Datuk Ts Dr Nagulendran Kangayatkarasu (left) and World Cup legend Gilberto Silva of Brazil pose with the World Cup trophy at Subang Skypark. – ADAM AMIR HAMZAH/THESUN

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Ű BY IKHWAN ZULKAFLEE newsdesk@thesundaily.com

over more than 150 days. “I am very happy to inform you that Malaysia is the first nation in Asean to receive the trophy tour. “Internationally, the tour began in Saudi Arabia on Jan 3 and will travel to all three host nations of the World Cup 2026, as well as future host coun tries.” Careaga added that the iconic trophy is rarely seen up close and can only be touched by a select few. “Made of 18-carat solid gold and weighing over 6kg, with two figures holding up our world, this 1974 design remains one of the most recog nisable symbols in global sport. “This priceless icon can only be touched by for mer World Cup winners and heads of state. It never leaves Fifa’s possession. Winning teams receive a gold-plated replica, but this original trav els the world, inspiring millions.” Also present at the event was Ministry of Youth and Sports Secretary-General Datuk Dr Nagulendran Kangayatkarasu, who thanked Coca Cola for choosing Malaysia as a destination for the trophy exhibition. In his speech, Nagulendran said football is not only the country’s most popular sport but also a powerful force for unity. “People from different cultures, different com munities and different backgrounds come together and unite under the umbrella of football. The sport has huge and potentially immense core benefits,” he said. The 2026 World Cup edition will be host by the United States, Mexico and Canada across 16 cities. Rimtamad Teerayut (36:29.642s) far behind. Mohamad Yusof said he will compete in three more events with the determination to continue bringing glory to the country. In the women’s event, national cyclist Nur Azlia Syafinaz brought home the silver medal in the women’s individual time trial B cycling race with a time of 35:38.00s. Jannah Vanza Mifthahul (Indonesia) won the gold with a time of 34:55.616s, while Watcharobon (Thailand) finished the race in 35:57.202s for the bronze. – Bernama

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THE return of World Cup–winning midfielder Gilberto Silva to Malaysia yesterday, together with the iconic Fifa World Cup trophy, brought back fond memories of Brazil’s triumph in 2002. The former Arsenal midfielder said the visit reminded hi the Selecao ’s stopover in Malaysia as part of their final preparations for the tournament in South Korea and Japan before lifting the trophy with Brazil at the 2002 World Cup. Silva recalled that he was part of the Brazil squad – alongside stars Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, famously known as the 3R – who played a friendly match against Malaysia before the World Cup “It stopped over here and it’s such an honour and very special, because it brings me back to the time when we came here,” he said during the sixth Global World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola. Brazil’s 2002 World Cup–winning squad also featured legendary players such as Dida, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Lucio and Kaka, under the guid ance of head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. In the final, Brazil defeated Germany 2–0 to claim their fifth world title. Yesterday, Silva also accompanied the World Cup trophy during its public display at Sunway Pyramid, before it continues its journey to South Korea. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Asean and South Pacific operating unit president Selman Careaga said the trophy tour will visit 30 countries, making 75 stops

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Early preparations pays off for Mohamad Yusof MOHAMAD Yusof Hafizi Shaharuddin’s sacrifice of leaving his family to “camp” in Suphan Buri, Thailand for two months paid off when he brought home Malaysia’s first gold in the men’s C1-C2 individual road cycling time trial at the 2025 Asean Para Games (APG) at Suranaree University of Technology in Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday. “I didn’t expect to win gold, I just hoped to win a medal. I did my best because I just want to bring glory to the country, that’s all. “But thank God, I’m grateful for today’s vic tory, especially because I can bring this gold medal to my parents after two months of leav ing my family to train for this APG,” he told Bernama .

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The 28-year-old athlete, who is participating in the biennial games for the second time after the 2017 edition, is grateful for having the oppor tunity to win the same event again.

The official results showed that the youngest of the two siblings finished the race with a time of 32:39.887s, leaving competitors from Indonesia, Tifan Abid Alana (35:39.593s) and Thailand,

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