28/01/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | JAN 28, 2026

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Malaysia’s para contingent stand tall among region’s best

MONDAY night’s official closing of the Asean Para Games (APG) Thailand 2025 underscored a clear reality: the performances of Malaysia’s athletes throughout the Games have placed the country among the region’s leading contenders, the result of a combination of systematic implementation, high discipline and long-term planning. Malaysia’s para contingent wrapped up its cam paign with a total haul of 201 medals – comprising 64 gold, 64 silver and 73 bronze – across 17 sports, surpassing the initial targets of 55 gold medals and 181 overall medals set before the Games began. Malaysia moved up one spot to third place overall amid an increasingly open and competi tive landscape now dominated by Thailand as overall champions with 486 medals (175-155-156), followed by Indonesia in second place with 392 medals (135-143-114). Beyond the numbers, the true value of Malaysia’s campaign was reflected in the balanced spread of medal contributions across multiple sports, highlighting the maturity of its develop ment structure and the effectiveness of technical and tactical execution. Para athletics emerged as the backbone of the contingent, contributing 20 gold, 22 silver and 23 training with his teammates. Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), in a statement informed that CAS had approved their request for a stay of execution. “This means that the 12-month suspension from all football activities imposed by Fifa on the seven players has been temporarily lifted. “They are now allowed to continue their careers and participate in football-related activi ties until CAS makes a final ruling,” FAM said. A survey also found that the CAS decision has received mixed reactions among local football fans. A majority of them expressed relief and sup ported the CAS decision, describing it as crucial to ensuring the national team’s positive momen tum ahead of their Asia Cup qualifier against Vietnam in March. On Sept 26 last year, Fifa confirmed that FAM and the seven players had violated Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code (FDC) related to docu ment falsification.

The contingent’s overall strength was also reflected in para track cycling, which delivered seven gold medals, followed by tenpin bowling with six golds and para powerlifting with five golds. Gold contributions also came from para table tennis with four, while para road cycling, boccia and para fencing each delivered two golds. However, this success is no reason to slow down. Instead, it demands sustained preparation ahead of a packed major sporting calendar, begin ning with the 2026 Commonwealth Para Games, followed by the 2026 Asian Para Games, before the biggest challenge on the Paralympic stage in 2028 and the responsibility of hosting the Asean Para Games 2027 in Malaysia. – Bernama ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Everton 1 (Barry 76) Leeds 1 (Justin 28) . CHAMPIONSHIP: Norwich 2 Coventry 1. LA LIGA: Girona 1 (Reis 90+5) Getafe 1 (Vazquez 59) . SERIE A: Verona 1 (Orban 26) Udinese 3 (Atta 23, Zanoli 58, Davis 67) . RESULTS

bronze medals, reaffirming the sport as the pri mary pillar of Malaysia’s regional strength. Particular attention was focused on Ivan Jovic Suah, who delivered a high-profile moment by defeating Malaysia’s Paris Paralympics medallist Eddy Bernard to claim the men’s 100m T44 and 200m T44 titles, before completing a golden hat trick in the 400m T44/T63. The success was reinforced by Paralympic gold medallist Ziyad Zolkefli, 35, who once again deliv ered gold in the shot put F20, proving that experi ence and technical sharpness remain relevant amid increasingly intense competition driven by the emergence of a new generation. In the pool, Malaysian swimmers contributed 13 gold, 20 silver and 22 bronze medals, with Abd Halim Mohammad emerging as the most success ful athlete after securing five golds, one silver and one bronze. Investigations revealed that FAM had submitted documents believed to have been falsified to confirm the eligibility of the players, allowing them to compete in the third-round match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers on June 10, which saw Malaysia defeat Vietnam 4-0 in Group F. Consequently, FAM was ordered to pay a fine of CHF350,000 (RM1.8 million), while each player was fined CHF2,000 (RM11,000) and sus pended from all football-related activities for 12 months. Hopes for the penalty to be reduced were dashed when the Fifa Appeal Committee rejected the appeals filed by FAM and the players on Nov 3, thereby upholding the Disciplinary Committee’s decision on the violation of Article 22 of the FDC. As such, FAM had no choice but to bring the case to CAS to ensure justice is served and to defend the integrity of the player eligibility proc ess set by the government and the relevant authorities. – Bernama

MEDAL TALLY G S B

COUNTRY

Ttl

1. Thailand 2. Indonesia 3. Malaysia 4. Philippines 5. Vietnam 6. Myanmar 7. Singapore 8. Timor-Leste

175 135

155 143

156 114

486 392 201 134 144

64 45 38 20 13

64 37 48 19

73 52 58 20

59 29

7 1 5 3

9 1 9 2

3 2 1

5

9. Laos

16

10. Brunei

6

Huge relief CAS decision shot in the arm for Harimau Malaya heritage players

T HE decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to allow the seven sus pended Harimau Malaya heritage play ers to resume playing while awaiting a final decision on their appeal has given them new hope. The decision to grant the application for a stay of execution submitted by Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal dan Hector Hevel means the players can all heave a huge sigh of relief as they can now take part in any professional football-related activities for the time being. Holgado, in an Instagram post, described it as a positive outcome for him after a difficult period. “When you least expect it, the sun shines again and everything is rosy again; no storm remains forever,” he posted. Palmero, meanwhile, posted a brief response, simply saying “we are back”. Meanwhile, Garces, who had been suspended from playing for his La Liga club Deportivo, con firmed in an official statement that he can resume

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27/01/2026

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9517 1619 9634 7377 9210

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6361 + 4424 4424 + 6361 4490 + 6361

Pearly-Thinaah still not on par with Chinese pair: Rosman ALTHOUGH there was a significant improvement in their performance last year, top national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah are still a step behind cur rent world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning of China. Thinaah Thinaah (left) and Pearly Tan. – AFPPIC

RM124,526.99

became first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to win the title in the tournament since Vivian Hoo-Woon Khei last won it in 2011. They have com peted in three tournaments so far this season. Rosman, meanwhile, hopes that Pearly-Thinaah, the SEA Games Thailand 2025 gold medal lists, can continue to maintain the momentum and consistency they displayed last season, which led them to win three titles – the Thailand Open, Arctic Open and Japan Masters. “We have to take it as a chal lenge, and try to at least maintain what they achieved last year. At the end of the day, we must remember that their long-term plan is to win an Olympic medal. “It is not just about this year, as we want them to be able to con tinue to play for a long time. We are also concerned about their emo tions and the pressure they face,” he said. Pearly-Thinaah missed out on a medal in their 2024 Paris Olympic debut, going down 11-21, 11-21 to Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida of Japan in the bronze medal play off. – Bernama the

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National women’s doubles head coach Rosman Razak admit ted that Pearly-Thinaah need to work harder to close the gap on the outstandingly consistent Chinese pair, who triumphed at the World Championships 2025 in Paris and also clinched two Super 100 titles at the Indonesia Open and China Open last year. “We are trying to close the gap. At the end of every championship, win or lose, we will review the existing training programme (to see whether it is effective or not), but it is an ongoing process,” he told reporters after a training ses sion in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Rosman, however, believes that world No. 2 Pearly-Thinaah’s feat in bagging their first title of the year at the Indonesia Masters in Jakarta on Sunday will spur them to greater heights. This is despite Pearly-Thinaah, runners-up at the World Championships last August, win

3 22

RM11,401,213.73

RM183,025.42

6 1 2 4 9 0 61249

12490

6124

2490

612

490

61

90

24

13

ning it without having to lift their racquets after their final oppo nents, Arisa Igarashi-Miyu Takahashi of Japan, conceded a

walkover. It was reported that Takahashi was unable to play due to a fever. The triumph meant that Pearly

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