25/02/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | FEB 25, 2026

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N ATIONAL women’s doubles head coach Rosman Razak is leaving no stone unturned in preparing Pearly Tan M.Thinaah for the upcoming All England Badminton Championships, with nearly 70%t of the training programme dedicated to improving their physical fitness. He admitted that Pearly-Thinaah have been feeling a little tired due to the high workload he has been putting on them as they gear up for the All England, which will be held at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham from March 3-8. “Within the last month, about 70% of our training sessions focused on improving their physical capacity. We want to enhance their endurance, strength and resilience levels on court. “Not just for the All-England, but as the foun dation to competing in other championships, because the block of training sessions after this is very much shorter,” he told reporters after the ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Everton 0 Manchester United 1 (Sesko 71) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 28 18 7 3 56 21 61 Man City 27 17 5 5 56 25 56 Aston Villa 27 15 6 6 38 28 51 Man Utd 27 13 9 5 48 37 48 Chelsea 27 12 9 6 48 31 45 Liverpool 27 13 6 8 42 35 45 Brentford 27 12 4 11 40 37 40 Bournemouth 27 9 11 7 43 45 38 Everton 27 10 7 10 29 31 37 Fulham 27 11 4 12 38 41 37 Newcastle 27 10 6 11 38 39 36 Sunderland 27 9 9 9 28 33 36 Crystal Palace 27 9 8 10 29 32 35 Brighton 27 8 10 9 36 34 34 Leeds 27 7 10 10 37 46 31 Tottenham 27 7 8 12 37 41 29 Nottm Forest 27 7 6 14 25 39 27 West Ham 27 6 7 14 32 49 25 Burnley 27 4 7 16 29 52 19 Wolves 28 1 7 20 18 51 10 LA LIGA: Alaves 2 (Boye 5, 89) Girona 2 (Vanat 31, Tsygankov 73) . P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 25 20 1 4 67 25 61 Real Madrid 25 19 3 3 54 21 60 Villarreal 25 16 3 6 47 27 51 Atletico 25 14 6 5 42 23 48 Real Betis 25 11 9 5 40 30 42 Celta Vigo 25 9 10 6 34 27 37 Espanyol 25 10 5 10 31 37 35 Bilbao 25 10 4 11 29 35 34 Osasuna 25 9 6 10 30 29 33 Sociedad 25 8 8 9 37 38 32 Girona 25 7 9 9 26 40 30 Sevilla 25 8 5 12 32 39 29 Getafe 25 8 5 12 20 29 29 Alaves 25 7 6 12 23 32 27 Vallecano 24 6 8 10 22 31 26 Valencia 25 6 8 11 26 39 26 Elche 25 5 10 10 32 37 25 Mallorca 25 6 6 13 29 41 24 Levante 25 4 6 15 26 44 18 Real Oviedo 24 3 8 13 16 39 17 SERIE A: Fiorentia 1 (Kean 13) Pisa 0, Bologna 1 (Bernardeschi 75-pen) Udinese 0. P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 26 21 1 4 62 21 64 AC Milan 26 15 9 2 41 20 54 Roma 26 16 2 8 34 16 50 Napoli 26 15 5 6 39 27 50 Juventus 26 13 7 6 43 25 46 Como 26 12 9 5 41 19 45 Atalanta 26 12 9 5 36 22 45 Bologna 26 10 6 10 35 32 36 Sassuolo 26 10 5 11 32 35 35 Lazio 26 8 10 8 26 25 34 Udinese 26 9 5 12 28 39 32 Parma 26 8 8 10 19 31 32 Cagliari 26 7 8 11 28 35 29 Genoa 26 6 9 11 32 37 27 Torino 26 7 6 13 25 47 27 Fiorentina 26 5 9 12 30 39 24 Cremonese 26 5 9 12 21 36 24 Lecce 26 6 6 14 17 33 24 Pisa 26 1 12 13 20 43 15 Verona 26 2 9 15 19 46 15 RESULTS & STANDINGS

Let’s get physical Pearly-Thinaah being pushed to the limit ahead of All England Championships: Rosman

they will have a more positive momentum going into the next matches,” he said. Meanwhile, Rosman has also described the decision not to compete in this week’s German Open as a strategic move to ensure the national shuttlers are in prime shape for the All England. “There is no such thing as a ‘warm-up’ tour nament, because they will still be required to win. The level of competition at the German Open is also high. “This year, many shuttlers chose to focus only on the All England, so we decided to take the same approach and conserve our energy,” he said. – Bernama

counter this and still win, despite not being at your best… that’s the hardest part,” he said. Commenting on his expectations for the pair in Birmingham, Rosman stressed that Pearly Thinaah cannot run away from being set the highest target of returning with the women’s dou bles title. “We definitely want them to win. Pearly Thinaah cannot run away from that fact. But I view the first and second rounds as extremely crucial for them to adapt to their court conditions and competition environment. “If they can clear the first two hurdles smoothly, I believe their confidence will soar, and

training session at Akademi Badminton Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Rosman said it is crucial for Pearly-Thinaah to improve their physical endurance to maintain an aggressive rhythm during long rallies and packed competition schedules. The coach also admitted that Pearly Thinaah’s “yo-yo” form remains the biggest chal lenge, especially when the elite pairs from China and Japan frequently switch their tactics during games. “We can expect them to always be in good form. In competitions, there are times their per formance levels will drop. The question is how to

No pain, no gain for Wei Chong

Hakim Danish raring to go ahead of Moto3 campaign

Jamil as the team’s head coach, effective immediately. In a statement, NSFC informed that assistant coach K. Rajan has been appointed as the interim head coach until further notice. “NSFC expresses its gratitude for his (Nidzam’s) service and contributions to the team since the start of the season,“ the statement said. According to the club, the primary focus of the club and the coaching staff at this time is to restore stability and player morale to face the remaining matches of the season. The “Jang” squad was plagued by four consecutive defeats, including Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Imigresen FC in a Super League match at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi, Seremban. He also announced that he will undergo fur ther examination with the doctor tomorrow to assess the latest development of the injury, thus determining his level of readiness ahead of the tournament. – Bernama NATIONAL men’s doubles player, Man Wei Chong is determined to participate in the prestigious 2026 All England tournament despite not fully recovering from three injuries to his right knee. The 27-year-old player said the decision was made based on confidence in the recovery process he is undergoing and trust in the medi cal team. “This year in a January tournament, I could not stand the pain so I went for an MRI (mag netic resonance imaging scan). There are three injuries near my right knee, namely the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), meniscus injury and chondral. “The most minor is the ACL, but there are two others at level 2,” he told reporters after a training session at Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara, Kusla Lumpur yesterday. The injury to his right knee has caused him to reduce his training on the court for the past two weeks by focusing on gym training and the recovery process before returning to increase the intensity of training on the court this week. “This really takes time because two weeks before Chinese New Year I got the PRP injection (Platelet-rich plasma) and I haven’t fully recov ered yet, it’s taking a while. “We have discussed with the physio and the doctor at the National Sports Institute (ISN), and the doctor believes in me and I have to believe in myself. “I can’t let the injury slow me down. I don’t want to think about it (the injury) too much, if there is a chance to get on court, I will go all out,” he said.

FAM cancels three tourneys FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION of Malaysia (FAM) have confirmed the cancellation of three national-level futsal and beach football tournaments this season after taking into account various factors, including streamlining the competition calendar. Other factors include the national team’s commitments, logistics and infrastructure. FAM, however, emphasised that the decision is not a step backwards in the development of futsal and beach football in the country, but instead a strategic approach. “It is a strategic approach to ensure a more organised, sustainable and high-impact planning for the future. NATIONAL teen rider Muhammad Hakim Danish Ramli is in prime shape mentally and physically ahead of his first full campaign in the Moto3 class of the World Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) at this weekend’s Thailand Grand Prix at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram. Although he still has a lot to learn and improve on following a series of pre-season tests at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal and the Circuito de Jerez in Spain recently, the Frinsa-MT Helmets-MSI rider is confident he can give his best in the opening race of the new season in Thailand this weekend. “The Moto3 race is very different in terms of technical machinery and race management. However, having had the experience of com peting in three races last year,” he said in a statement yesterday. “I have identified the critical aspects that I need to improve on, particularly clocking good SHORTS

“We are reviewing the competition structure for futsal and beach football to align them with the long-term development direction and higher competition standards,” FAM said in a statement yesterday. Meanwhile, FAM will also study in detail the restructuring plans for futsal and beach football tournaments once discussions with the stakeholders are finalised. Earlier, the media reported that the Malaysia Futsal Cup (MFC), National U-19 Men’s Futsal Championship and the National Beach Football Championship for this season had been cancelled. NSFC head coach resigns NEGERI SEMBILAN FC (NSFC) yesterday announced the resignation of Mohd Nidzam times in the qualifying sessions and the strat egy to adopt on race day.” Last year, the 18-year-old made his maiden appearance in Moto3 on a wildcard ticket, rep resenting Team Aeon Credit SICRacing MSI at the Malaysian GP at Sepang International Circuit. However, Hakim Danish failed to complete the race on home ground due to technical issues. The Terengganu youngster was then given the opportunity to appear in the final two Moto3 rounds of the 2025 season – the Portuguese GP followed by the Valencia GP – representing Frinsa-MT Helmets-MSI as a replacement for the injured Ryusei Yamanaka of Japan. The talented young rider recorded encour aging results, finishing 12th in the Portugal GP and 14th in the Valencia GP in Spain. – Bernama