02/02/2026

SPORTS MONDAY | FEB 2, 2026

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Cats jump up to second Defensive discipline key to Kuching’s win over NSFC, says coach

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Brighton 1 (Gross 73) Everton 1 (Beto 90+7) , Chel sea 3 (Joao Pedro 57, Cucurella 70, Fernan dez 90+2) West Ham 2 (Bowen 7, Summerville 36) , Leeds 0 Arsenal 4 (Zubimendi 27, Darlow 38-og, Gyokeres 69, Jesus 86) , Wolves 0 Bournemouth 2 (Kroupi 33, Scott 90+1) , Liverpool 4 (Ekitike 41, 43, Wirtz 67, Konate 90+3) Newcastle 1 (Gordon 36) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 24 16 5 3 46 17 53 Man City 23 14 4 5 47 21 46 Aston Villa 23 14 4 5 35 25 46 Chelsea 24 11 7 6 42 27 40 Liverpool 24 11 6 7 39 33 39 Man Utd 23 10 8 5 41 34 38 Fulham 23 10 4 9 32 32 34 Everton 24 9 7 8 26 27 34 Brentford 23 10 3 10 35 32 33 Newcastle 24 9 6 9 33 33 33 Sunderland 23 8 9 6 24 26 33 Bournemouth 24 8 9 7 40 43 33 Brighton 24 7 10 7 34 32 31 Tottenham 23 7 7 9 33 31 28 Palace 23 7 7 9 24 28 28 Leeds 24 6 8 10 31 42 26 Nottm Forest 23 7 4 12 23 34 25 West Ham 24 5 5 14 29 48 20 Burnley 23 3 6 14 25 44 15 Wolves 24 1 5 18 15 45 8 CHAMPIONSHIP: Bristol City 0 Derby 5, Leicester 0 Charlton 2, Stoke 0 South ampton 2, Sheffield Wednesday 0 Wrex ham 1, QPR 2 Coventry 1, Millwall 1 Sheffield United 1, Portsmouth 3 West Brom 0, Watford 0 Swansea 2, Black burn 0 Hull 1, Oxford Utd 0 Birmingham 2, Middlesbrough 1 Norwich 0, Ipswich 1 Preston 1. Top 4 P W D L F A Pts Coventry 30 17 7 6 63 35 58 Boro 30 17 7 6 47 29 58 Hull 29 16 5 8 48 40 53 Ipswich 29 14 9 6 49 28 51 LA LIGA: Real Oviedo 1 (Chaira 74) Girona 0, Osasuna 2 (Victor Munoz 20, Budimir 45+2) Villarreal 2 (Moreno 17 pen, 70) , Levante 0 Atletico Madrid 0, Elche 1 (Rodriguez 29) Barcelona 3 (Yamal 6, Torres 40, Rashford 72) . Top 4 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 22 18 1 3 60 23 55 Real Madrid 21 16 3 2 45 17 51 Atleti 22 13 6 3 38 17 45 Villarreal 21 13 3 5 39 23 42 SERIE A: Pisa 1 (Aebischer 51) Sassuolo 3 (Berardi 25, Caracciolo 45+1-og, Kone 58) , Napoli 2 (Vergara 11, Gutierrez 49) Fiorentina 1 (Solomon 57) , Cagliari 4 (Mazzitelli 36, Kilicsoy 45+2, Sulemana 84, Idrissi 90+1) Verona 0. Top 4 P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 22 17 1 4 50 19 52 AC Milan 22 13 8 1 35 17 47 Napoli 23 14 4 5 33 21 46 Roma 22 14 1 7 27 13 43 BUNDESLIGA: Hamburg 2 Bayern Munich 2, Werder Bremen 1 Borussia Moenchengladbach 1, RB Leipzig 1 Mainz 2, Augsburg 2 St Pauli 1, Eintracht Frankfurt 1 Bayer Leverkusen 3, Hoffenheim 3 Union Berlin 1. Top 4 P W D L F A Pts Bayern 20 16 3 1 74 18 51 Dortmund 19 12 6 1 38 17 42 Hoffenheim 20 13 3 4 43 23 42 RB Leipzig 20 11 3 6 38 27 36 FRENCH LIGUE 1: Paris FC 2 Marseille 2, Lorient 2 Nantes 1, Monaco 4 Rennes 0. Top 4 P W D L F A Pts Lens 20 15 1 4 34 16 46 Paris SG 19 14 3 2 41 15 45 Marseille 20 12 3 5 46 22 39 Lyon 19 11 3 5 32 20 36

K UCHING CITY FC secured a crucial vic tory to climb to second place in the 2025/2026 Super League table after suc cessfully defeating Negeri Sembilan FC (NSFC) 2-0 at the Sarawak State Stadium in Kuching yesterday night. The home side started the match with high energy and managed to open the scoring through Gabriel Nistelrooy Tamin in the 10th minute, capi talising on a mistake by NSFC defender Muhammad Amirul Adli Azmi.

Sharin said in a post-match press conference. We had many chances, which is a positive, but we must improve on finishing and avoid giving away chances ourselves, because those opportunities don’t come every night.” Despite their attacking approach, Aidil Sharin emphasised the importance of defensive discipline and praised the team’s effort to maintain a clean sheet. “We tried to shut down some of their key players. I think the boys did very well,” he said. Aidil Sharin also acknowledged areas for improvement, particularly in finishing, noting that the team created many chances but must be more clinical in front of goal. Looking ahead, Aidil Sharin said tactical flexibility and squad rotation would be key as they prepare for their next league match against Selangor on Feb 22. The race for second place has intensified; after 15 matches, Kuching sits in second, sharing 31 points with Selangor FC in third, while KL City FC trails in fourth by only one point. Defending cham pions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) sit at the top of the league table with 45 points, maintaining a 100% win record so far. – Bernama

Aware that a 1-0 lead was not yet secure, Kuching City continued to pressure the visitors’ defence before eventually scoring a second goal via import striker Wanja Ronald Ngah in the 66th min ute. The visiting team attempted a comeback toward the end of the match, but the resilience of the defence under head coach Aidil Sharin Sahak ensured the two-goal advantage remained until the final whistle. “We wanted to win and attack, using Joao Pedro and Ramadhan Saifullah more on the wings,” Aidil

NSFC’s Joseph Esso (centre) is challanged by two Kuching defenders during the Super League match at Stadium Negeri yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

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Maba banking on 3x3 cagers for gold at 2027 SEA Games

RM11,362,409.74

THE Malaysian Basketball Association (Maba) are targeting at least one gold medal or two sil vers at the 2027 SEA Games, with the team for the 3x3 event identified as the main hope. MABA president Datuk Seri Lee Tian Hock said that, as such, they will get cracking right away despite there being nearly two years to go to the 2027 edition of the biennial Games. “Since the 2027 edition will be held in Malaysia, we must set a higher target, thus we are eyeing either one gold or two silvers, at least… as we know our strengths and weak nesses. For the 5x5 event, our biggest threat will be the Philippines, so it will be difficult for us to triumph. “Our best hope for gold is in the 3x3 event because our team are currently 11th in the world and have qualified for the 2026 (Glasgow) Commonwealth Games,” he said when met dur ing the Maba dinner in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. For the record, Malaysia returned home with two bronze medals in the men’s and women’s NATIONAL independent shuttler Goh Jin Wei’s fairytale run at the Thailand Masters 2026 ended in heartbreak after she was forced to retire – apparently due to fatigue – in the second game of the women’s singles final against India’s Devika Sihag yesterday. Jin Wei, who needed three games to defeat each of her first-round, second-round, quarterfinal and semifinal opponents here, looked a spent force in the title showdown at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok. World No. 68 Jin Wei lost the first game 8-21 before retiring while trailing world No. 63 Devika 3-6 in the second game. Jin Wei’s coach, Seto Danu Kusuma,

3x3 event at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, with the home team bagging the men’s gold and Indonesia triumphing in the women’s category. Meanwhile, Tian Hock said Maba had approved a RM7.3 million allocation for basket ball activities this year, and will redouble their efforts to be well-prepared for the 2027 edition of the Games. He added that the association now have sta ble and strong financial resources to fund their activities, thus ensuring they are financially sustainable. According to him, this is part of Maba’s efforts to reduce dependency on government assistance and ease the country’s financial bur den. “We are one of, if not the only, financially independent sports associations in Malaysia. Even without government contribution, we can still function and continue with our activities,” he added. – Bernama revealed that the earlier three-game matches finally took a toll on her. “I am very satisfied with her performance in this tournament. Hopefully, she can recover in time for the Singapore Challenge at the end of this month,” he told Bernama after the match. This is Penang-born Jin Wei’s fourth runner up finish in an Open tournament. She also finished second in the 2016 Indonesia Masters, 2017 Taiwan Open and 2022 Vietnam Open. Despite yesterday’s defeat, Jin Wei can hold her head up high for having made history as the first Malaysian women’s singles shuttler to reach a World Tour Super 300 final. – Bernama

8452 + 3805 4353 + 3805 3805 + 4353

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RM256,294.23

2 4 5 2028313335

10 15

No fairytale ending for Jin Wei

RM11,630,250.03

RM189,415.06

5 2 5 3 0 5 52530

25305

5253

5305

525

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