20/02/2026

SPORTS FRIDAY | FEB 20, 2026

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Clean sweep National lawn bowls teams dominate 7-Nation Championship M ALAYSIA emerged overall champions of the 2026 7-Nation Invitational Lawn Bowls Championship after dominating all four events on the final day of com petition at Stadium Juara, Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. next success came through Malaysia B representa tive Nor Farah Ain Abdullah, who clinched the women’s singles title after overcoming India’s Nayanmoni Saikia 2-1. Malaysia B men’s pairs combination

RESULTS & STANDINGS

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (Playoffs, 1st leg) : Qarabag 1 (Jafarguliyev 55) Newcastle 6 (Gordon 3, 32-pen, 34, 45+1 pen, Thiaw 8, Murphy 72) , Bodo/Glimt 3 (Brunstad Fet 20, Hauge 61, Hogh 64) Inter Milan 1 (Esposito 30) , Club Brugge 3 (Onyedika 52, Tresoldi 60, Tzolis 89) Atletico Madrid 3 (Alvarez 8 pen, Lookman 45+4, Ordonez 79-og) , Olympiacos 0 Bayer Leverkusen 2 (Schick 60, 63) . ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Wolves 2 (Bueno 61, Calafiori 90+4-og) Arsenal 2 (Saka 5, Hincapie 56) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 27 17 7 3 52 20 58 Man City 26 16 5 5 54 24 53 Aston Villa 26 15 5 6 37 27 50 Man Utd 26 12 9 5 47 37 45 Chelsea 26 12 8 6 47 30 44 Liverpool 26 12 6 8 41 35 42 Brentford 26 12 4 10 40 35 40 Everton 26 10 7 9 29 30 37 Bournemouth 26 9 10 7 43 45 37 Newcastle 26 10 6 10 37 37 36 Sunderland 26 9 9 8 27 30 36 Fulham 26 10 4 12 35 40 34 Crystal Palace 26 8 8 10 28 32 32 Brighton 26 7 10 9 34 34 31 Leeds 26 7 9 1036 45 30 Tottenham 26 7 8 1136 37 29 Nottm Forest 26 7 6 13 25 38 27 West Ham 26 6 6 1432 49 24 Burnley 26 4 6 1628 51 18 Wolves 27 1 7 1918 50 10 LA LIGA: Levante 0 Villarreal 1 (Mikautadze 57) . P W D L F A Pts Real Madrid 24 19 3 2 53 19 60 Barcelona 24 19 1 4 64 25 58 Villarreal 24 15 3 6 45 26 48 Atleti 24 13 6 5 38 21 45 Real Betis 24 11 8 5 39 29 41 Espanyol 24 10 5 9 29 33 35 Celta Vigo 24 8 10 6 32 27 34 Real Sociedad 24 8 7 9 34 35 31 Athletic Bilbao 24 9 4 11 27 34 31 Osasuna 24 8 6 1028 28 30 Getafe 24 8 5 1120 28 29 Girona 24 7 8 9 24 38 29 Sevilla 24 7 5 1231 39 26 Alaves 24 7 5 1221 30 26 Valencia 24 6 8 1025 37 26 Elche 24 5 10 9 31 35 25 Rayo Vallecano23 6 7 10 21 30 25 Mallorca 24 6 6 1229 39 24 Levante 24 4 6 1426 41 18 Real Oviedo 23 3 7 13 13 36 16 SERIE A: AC Milan 1 (Leao 64) Como 1 (Paz 32) . P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 25 20 1 4 60 21 61 AC Milan 25 15 9 1 41 19 54 Napoli 25 15 5 5 38 25 50 Roma 25 15 2 8 31 16 47 Juventus 25 13 7 5 43 23 46 Como 25 11 9 5 39 19 42 Atalanta 25 11 9 5 34 21 42 Bologna 25 9 6 1034 32 33 Lazio 25 8 9 8 26 25 33 Sassuolo 25 9 5 1129 35 32 Udinese 25 9 5 1128 38 32 Parma 25 7 8 1018 31 29 Cagliari 25 7 7 1128 35 28 Torino 25 7 6 1225 44 27 Genoa 25 5 9 1129 37 24 Cremonese 25 5 9 1121 33 24 Lecce 25 6 6 1317 31 24 Fiorentina 25 4 9 1229 39 21 Pisa 25 1 12 12 20 42 15 Verona 25 2 9 1419 43 15

needed to be refined and improved. “Honestly, I am satisfied but Team A was ini tially targeted to be champions. However, things turned out differently, but it is still within our target of emerging overall champions this time,” he told reporters after the finals. Meanwhile, Nor Farah adapted well to the tour nament format, including the implementation of the timer system. “I have played in this format before. For me, the timer and the 30-second duration are actually okay. Another thing is that matches become faster,” said the 25-year-old. The 2026 7-Nation Invitational Lawn Bowls Championship, featuring Malaysia, New Zealand, India, Hong Kong, Singapore and Northern Australia, also served as an early preparation plat form and selection ground for the national squad ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games sched uled to begin next July. – Bernama

Muhammad Naufal Azmi and Fadley Jabal added to the celebrations after beating Northern Australia’s Alex Brennan and Trystan Smallacombe 2-1 before Malaysia A men’s singles representative Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple completed the clean sweep by defeating New Zealand Silver’s Shannon Mcilroy 2-1 in the men’s singles final. Based on points collected, Malaysia B were crowned overall champions with 25 points, fol lowed by Malaysia A in second place, sharing 24 points with New Zealand Silver in third. Fairul Izwan said the tournament served as an important starting point in preparations for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, while acknowledging that several aspects still

Using the official format of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, the national squad under head coach Fairul Izwan Abd Muin proved their supremacy in the men’s and women’s singles as well as the men’s and women’s pairs events. Malaysia C pair Nur Syafira

Mohamad Rezuan and Nurul Balqis Anisha Bakar set the tone for the national team’s success after defeating Hong Kong’s Cheryl Chan and Helen Cheung 2-1 in the women’s pairs final. The national camp’s

Fasting month no hindrance for Ziyad athlete Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli, the month of Ramadan is not merely a time for worship, but also a period to maintain a high level of athletic discipline. Unwilling to allow his training intensity to ease during the holy month, the men’s shot put F20 (intellectual disability) gold medallist at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games is prepared to become a “night owl”, training on the field until the early hours of the morning. Muhammad Ziyad also admitted that he feels fresher and more energised when training during Ramadan. “My training schedule, which is usually during the day, has now changed. I allocate about two hours for weightlifting training at the gym, from 4pm to 6pm, before continuing with throwing practice at night after tarawih prayers, from 9.30pm until 2am. “I feel fresher as I get sufficient rest during the day, and I am even more motivated to train during Ramadan,” he told Bernama . Fresh from winning gold at the 2025 Asean Para Games in Korat, Thailand, last month, Muhammad Ziyad is now sharpening his edge for the 2026 World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Rabat, Morocco. He said that he is carrying forward the momentum from Korat, with the aim of clinching gold at the championships, to be held from April 23 to 26. He added that success in Morocco would serve as an additional boost, before he competes at the 2026 Asian Para Games, scheduled to take place from Oct 18 to 24. Muhammad Ziyad is a three-time consecutive gold medallist in the men’s shot put F20 event at the Asian Para Games, and also holds the Asian record of 17.43 metres, set in Japan in 2024. – Bernama FOR national para

Aruwin finishes 4th in women’s slalom

Aruwin Salehhuddin in action during the women’s slalom event in the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre on Wednesday. – @OCM/Facebook

NATIONAL alpine skier Aruwin Salehhuddin concluded her 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics campaign on Wednesday, finishing 44th in the women’s slalom event at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Italy. According to the official Games website, the 22-year-old clocked a total time of 1:54.82s. Aruwin’s performance showed significant progression throughout the day as she finished her first run in 54th place with 55.09s and moved up 10th spot in the second run (59.73s). The result marks a redemption for Malaysia’s sole representative in Italy and managed to improve upon her 2022 Beijing debut, where she unfortunately failed to complete the same event. The event saw American Mikaela Shiffrin claim the gold medal with a dominant time of 1:39.10s.

Savehshemshaki (Iran), who is ranked 53rd,” added Norza. Slalom is the shortest Alpine ski race, with athletes typically finishing in a time of 50 to 60s and the most number of turns. Skiers have to ski down a course, weaving through a series of gates set up in quick succession until they reach the finish line. If a skier fails to pass any gate during the first run, they receive a DNF (Did Not Finish) and are not permitted to start the second run. Similarly, missing a gate or skiing off course in the second run results in a DNF, preventing the athlete from receiving an official final result. Last Sunday, Aruwin endured a challenging outing as she failed to complete the women’s giant slalom at the same venue. The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, which kicked off Feb 6, will end on Sunday. – Bernama/Agencies

Camille Rast of Switzerland took home silver (1:40.60s) while Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson com pleted the podium with bronze (1:40.81s). A total of 95 athletes from 57 countries qualified to compete in the event, including Aruwin, the first Malaysian female athlete to qualify for the Winter Games. “On behalf of the Olympic Family in Malaysia, I would like to express our heartfelt congratulations to Aruwin on her remarkable achieve ment in her second consecutive appearance at the Olympic Winter Games,” Olympic Council of Malaysia president Dr. Norza Zakaria said. “We are extremely proud of her as she emerged as the top finisher among the four Asian skiers who completed the race, ahead of Tallulah Proulx (Philippines), who is ranked 50th, Lee Wen-Yi (Chinese Taipei), ranked 52nd and Sadaf

Noor Ainaa battles into second round in Cincinnati

NATIONAL squash player Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi, the SEA Games Thailand 2025 gold medallist, launched her Cincinnati Gaynor Cup 2026 campaign on a positive note as she marched into the second round in Cincinnati, United States. The world No. 57 showed great resilience as

11-2, 11-9, 4-11, 11-8 in a thrilling opening round clash against American Charlotte Sze. The Cincinnati Gaynor Cup 2026 is a Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour Silver-level tournament, offering a total prize money of USD86,250 (RM338,000). – Bernama

holds a psychological advantage, with a 2-0 head-to-head record against the Malaysian. Another national player, Rachel Arnold, who received an opening-round bye, also begins her campaign overnight in the second round against Egypt’s Menna Hamed. Menna earned her spot after prevailing 9-11,

she came from behind to see off world No. 54 Marie Stephan of France 12-14, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10 in the first round on Wednesday. However, a daunting challenge awaits the unseeded Noor Ainaa as she will be up against top seed Georgina Kennedy of England. Georgina, who received a first-round bye,