06/02/2026

SPORTS FRIDAY | FEB 6, 2026

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Mentality monsters! Pan Gon hails Red Giants after draw secures ACC semifinal berth

RESULTS

SWIMMING champion Khiew Hoe Yean and wushu queen Tan Cheong Min have become the national male and female athletes to receive the high est Sports Victory Prize Scheme (Shakam) for the 2025 SEA Games. The 2025 SEA Games and Asean Para Games Shakam presentation cere mony in Kuala Lumpur yesterday saw Hoe Yean, who won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze, take home RM32,000 as a reward for his success at the biennial sports games in December last year. Hoe Yean won gold in the 200m and CARABAO CUP (semifinal 2nd leg) : Manchester City 3 (Marmoush 7, 29, Reijnders 32) Newcastle 1 (Elanga 62) – City won 5-1 on agg . SPANISH CUP (quarterfinals) : Alaves 2 (Rebbach 8, Martinez 29-pen) Real Sociedad 3 (Oyarzabal 15, Guedes 76, Oskarsson 80) , Valencia 1 (Umar 35) Athletic Bilbao 2 (Umar 26-og, Williams 90+6) . ITALIAN CUP (quarterfinal) : Inter Milan 2 (Bonny 35, Diouf 47) Torino 1 (Kuleno vic 57) . GERMAN CUP (quarterfinal) : Holstein Kiel 0 Stuttgart 3. FRENCH CUP (round of 16) : Toulouse 1 Amiens 0, Lyon 2 Laval 0, Lorient 2 Paris FC 0, Nice 3 Montpellier 2, Troyes 2 Lens 4. Turtles gunning for big win on home turf TERENGGANU FC (TFC) admits that the upcoming match against Kuala Lumpur City FC (KL City FC) looks challenging; how ever, they are determined to secure a com fortable lead when both meet in the first leg Malaysia Cup quarterfinals at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu today. TFC acting head coach, Tengku Hazman Raja Hassan, said that his team needs to score as many goals as possible at home to serve as a safety cushion before travelling to Kuala Lumpur on Feb 16. The 49-year-old manager said that play ers must maintain their positive momen tum and winning streak to progress to the semifinals of the country’s most prestigious cup. “I am confident in the momentum TFC has right now. We view the first leg at home as an advantage, and we will take full opportunity to score as many goals as pos sible,” he said when contacted yesterday. Tengku Hazman noted, however, that team preparations have been slightly affected as several key pillars, including Muhammad Safwan Mazlan and Diego Landis, sustained injuries during the Super League match against Selangor FC last Sunday. In addition to injuries, a congested match schedule this month has led to exhaustion and fitness issues among many regular starters. “I may need to shuffle the starting eleven slightly to manage the players’stam ina and fitness levels. The challenge of the Malaysia Cup is different from the Super League. Therefore, I’ve reminded the players to increase their focus, stay vigilant, and not underestimate the opponent’s capabilities,” he said. – Bernama

S ELANGOR FC head coach Kim Pan Gon was full of praise for his men after they booked a place in the Asean Club Championship (ACC) semifinals by holding Thailand’s BG Pathum United to a 1-1 draw despite being reduced to 10 men for a large part of the game yesterday. The South Korean tactician hailed his players’ strong char acter and mental toughness in withstanding around 70 minutes of intense pressure in their final Group A match at the Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium (MBPJ) Stadium. “Players have passion. Players have desire. We want to qual ify. We want to go to the semifinal. That was a crucial game. We showed our team spirit and strength… Selangor… Red Giants. “We are now one step forward. We have improved. I am very proud of all the players who have overcome this very difficult hurdle,” said the former Harimau Malaya head coach at the post-match press conference. The match started at a high tempo before Selangor suffered a setback after 26th minute when import midfielder Alvin Fortes was shown a red card for fouling Kritsada Kaman. Playing with 10 men did not dampen the spirits of the home team when team captain Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim scored the opening goal in the 36th minute with a powerful shot from inside the penalty box after deceiving two opposing defenders. However, BG Pathum United managed to equalise after Waris Choolthong’s cross from the right was pushed into his own goal by Selangor defender Richmond Ankrah in the 64th minute. Selangor almost conceded another goal in the 77th minute, but goalkeeper Kalamullah Al-Hafiz Mat Rowi acted brilliantly to deny BG Pathum United striker Ikhsan Fandi Ahmad’s pow erful header. The 1-1 score remained until the final whistle, and BG Pathum United were forced to accept elimination from the competition after finishing the group in third place with eight points. The one point, though, was enough for Selangor to finish second in Group A with nine points. Another Thai representa tive, defending champions Buriram United, topped the group also on nine points, but with a better goal difference after trash ing Dynamic Herb Cebu FC of the Philippines 6-0 at home. In the home-and-away semifinals in May, Buriram United will face the Group B runners-up while Selangor will face the Group B champions. – Bernama

Selangor’s Mamadou Diarra (left) in action with Pathum Utd’s Chanatip Songkrasin at the MBPJ Stadium on Wednesday. – BERNAMAPIC

Terengganu set top-three target

TERENGGANU has set a target of finishing among the top three teams at the 2026 Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Selangor this August. Terengganu State Sports Council (MSNT) director Ahmad Shahrizal Yahaya said they are in the final stage of determining the medal target for the contingent this time. He said for the 22nd edition of the Games, Terengganu will field more than 500 athletes in 35 of the 37 events contested. “At Sukma 2024 in Sarawak, the Terengganu contingent finished fifth with a haul of 41 gold, 36 silver and 47 bronze medals. “For this edition, we are eyeing a realistic top three finish rather than becoming overall champions, so as not to put excessive pressure on the athletes, 60 per cent of whom are new faces,” he said at the appointment ceremony for the contingent’s chef de mission, sports patrons and adoptive departments for Sukma 2026 in Kuala Nerus on Wednesday night. The presentation of appointment letters was officiated by Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr

incentives under the National Representative Scheme and victory rewards totalling RM239,300 to 102 Terengganu athletes who competed in the 2025 SEA Games from Dec 9 to 20 last year and the 2025 Asean Para Games held from Jan 20 to 26. He said 20 athletes from Terengganu contributed seven gold, seven silver and 13 bronze medals for the country at the 2025 SEA Games, while Terengganu athletes at the 2025 Asean Para Games won four gold, seven silver and three bronze medals. “Among the sports that contributed medals were cycling, gymnastics, pencak silat, archery, hockey, para badminton, para athletics and para table tennis. “These incentives are a token of appreciation from the state government for the athletes’ efforts in bringing honour to the nation and the state. This achievement is better than that recorded at the same Games in Cambodia in 2023,” he said. – Bernama

Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, accompanied by state Youth, Sports and Non-Governmental Organisations Development Committee chairman Hishamuddin Abdul Karim. At the ceremony, Deputy State Secretary (Development) Datuk Rosli Latif was appointed as the Sukma 2026 chef de mission. Ahmad Shahrizal said the Terengganu contingent is currently in the third phase of preparations and training, which focuses on three main strategies – selecting the strongest athletes, increasing participation in competitions domestically and overseas, and conducting closed door training with other teams. “With an allocation of RM5 million from the state government for Sukma preparations, we hope the team’s journey towards achieving the set target will run more smoothly,” he said. At the ceremony, Ahmad Samsuri also presented

Hoe Yean, Cheong Min top Shakam recipients

from July to December with the culmi nation being the SEA Games. Throughout that period, all parties MSN (National Sports Council), ISN (National Sports Institute), OCM (Olympic Council of Malaysia), KBS (Ministry of Youth and Sports), Malaysian Wushu Federation) provided support,” said the 27-year-old athlete. According to her, the Shakam reward she received will be saved for future use, similar to the previous reward used to cover the cost of her studies at the undergraduate level. – Bernama

golds, 22 silvers and 23 bronzes and created 10 games records, received the highest incentive of RM550,800. Para swimming came in second after win ning RM344,400 with 13 golds, 20 sil vers and 22 bronzes, followed by para cycling third (RM217,200) after winning 9 golds, five silvers and four bronzes. Meanwhile, Cheong Min, who was met by reporters, described the rewards she received as the result of the joint efforts of various parties throughout the intensive preparation period. “My competition schedule starts

Cricket, which won two golds and one silver and one bronze, became the second sport to receive the highest reward of RM247,200 while athletics was third with RM150,000 after win ning five golds, five silvers and six bronzes and breaking three games records. Meanwhile, two para swimmers Abdul Halim Mohammad and Carmen Lim emerged as the highest recipients for the Shakam Asean Para Games 2025 for men and women after taking home RM62,000 and RM39,000 respectively. Para athletics, which bagged 20

400m freestyle events, as well as silver in the 4x200m freestyle and bronze in the 4x100m freestyle. Cheong Min, who is the 2019 world champion, received RM26,666 after winning two gold medals each in the combined events of Nanquan, Nandao and Nangun, as well as the Dulilian event. At the same time, hockey, which includes field, indoor and five-a-side disciplines, emerged as the sport that received the highest reward of RM316,800 following its success in bringing home three golds and three silvers.