15/03/2026

theSun on Sunday MAR 15, 2026

SPORTS 15 LA LIGA: Alaves 1 (Rafa Marín 40-og) Villarreal 1 (Pepe 90+8) . TOP 3 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 27 22 1 4 72 26 67 Real Madrid 27 20 3 4 56 23 63 Villarreal 28 17 4 7 51 33 55 SERIE A: Torino 4 (Simeone 3, Ilkhan 55, Keita 56 og, Zapata 90+1) Parma 1 (Pellegrino 20) . TOP 3 P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 28 22 1 5 64 22 67 AC Milan 28 17 9 2 44 20 60 Napoli 28 17 5 6 43 29 56 BUNDESLIGA: Borussia Moenchengladbach 2 (Stoeger 37, Honorat 62) St Pauli 0. TOP 3 P W D L F A Pts Bayern 25 21 3 1 92 24 66 Dortmund 25 16 7 2 53 26 55 Hoffenheim 25 15 4 6 53 33 49 LIGUE 1: Marseille 1 (Gouiri 79) Auxerre 0. TOP 3 P W D L F A Pts Paris SG 25 18 3 4 54 22 57 Lens 25 18 2 5 48 21 56 Marseille 26 15 4 7 53 33 49 ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP: Wrexham 2 Swan sea 0. RESULTS & STANDINGS

Focus on Track World Cup Pocket Rocketman, Shah Firdaus to skip Asian Championships

NATIONAL track cycling star Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and teammate Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom will not compete in the 2026 Asian Track Cycling Championships (ACC 2026) in Tagaytay, the Philippines, from March 25 to 31, according to the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF). MNCF president Datuk Amarjit Singh said the decision was made to allow both riders to focus on the Track World Cup series at the National Velodrome Malaysia in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, from April 24 to 26. Amarjit said MNCF believes that Mohd Azizulhasni, known as “The Pocket Rocketman”, and Shah Firdaus should concentrate on the Track World Cup series. “We at MNCF feel it is better for Azizulhasni to focus his energy on the Track World Cup series to be held in Nilai.

significant rise in the UCI rankings following his impressive showing at the Track World Cup series in Perth last week. The former world champion and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games keirin silver medallist, who won keirin gold and individual sprint bronze in Perth, jumped 39 places to 18th in the world with 2,737 points in the men’s elite sprint rankings. New Joe also climbed 19 places to 17th in the world with 2,612 points following his impressive performance at the same meet. Amarjit added that MNCF is targeting the participation of Mohd Azizulhasni and Shah Firdaus in the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2026 Asian Games in Japan as part of preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games qualifying cycle. – Bernama

Moreover, it will be held on home soil for the first time in 25 years. The same applies to Shah Firdaus,” he said in a statement yesterday. Following the decision, MNCF will give rising young riders like Lau New Joe the opportunity to represent the country in Tagaytay. Amarjit, who is also vice-president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), said the championship could serve as the best platform for young riders to test their ability against challengers from across Asia. “I also believe riders like New Joe are capable of pulling off a surprise there. MNCF needs to be bold in giving young riders the chance to compete at the highest level on the Asian track cycling stage,” he said. Meanwhile, Amarjit said MNCF is excited about Mohd Azizulhasni’s

BRIEFS

NSFC hit Cops for six

KHAI XING-AARON CRASH OUT IN BASEL

THE Terengganu Hockey Team (THT), who powered their way to a historic Treble of titles last sea son, are expecting a tougher time this season, especially after losing two key players to their strongest rivals. Terengganu Hockey Association president Mohd Fikri Harun said the two THT national players – Mohamad Akhimullah Anuar Esook and Syarman Mat Tee – have joined Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). While admitting that it was a huge blow, THT are doing every National squash ace Ng Eain Yow’s 2026 Australian Open campaign came to an end at the quarterfinal stage in Brisbane on Friday night. World number 19 Eain Yow, the fifth seed, went down fighting 7-11, 11-9, 8-11, 5-11 to Egypt’s rising star Mohamad Zakaria,18, at the South Bank Piazza. The result marks 28-year-old Eain Yow’s third consecutive loss to Mohamad, who made history as the youngest-ever World Junior champion at the age of 16. It’s the end of the road for Malaysian shuttlers following men’s doubles pair Kang Khai Xing-Aaron Tai’s quarterfinal exit in the Swiss Open Badminton Championships at St Jakobshalle, Basel, on Friday night. The Malaysians went down 19-21, 15-21 to the sev enth-seeded Danish pair of Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard in 37 minutes in their first-ever meeting. In the semifinals, the Danes will face Peeratchai Sukphun-Pakkapon Teeraratsakul after the Thais defeated France’s Eloi Adam Leo Rossi 21-19, 21-12 in another quarterfinal tie. EAIN YOW EXITS AUSSIE OPEN

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the 22nd minute to level the score at 1-1 proved futile in the end. Negeri Sembilan, coached by K. Rajan, are sixth in the 13 team standing with 22 points after 19 matches, while PDRM FC continue to prop up the table with 10 points from 18 matches. – Bernama

goals in the fifth and 40th minutes, while Sasaki got his double in the 38th and 69th minutes. Kei Oshiro (53rd minute) and Ahmad Khuzaimi Piee (78th) chipped in with one goal apiece. PDRM FC skipper Park Taesu’s consolation goal in

LUQMAN HAKIM SHAMSU DIN and Takumi Sasaki bagged a brace each to steer Negeri Sembilan FC to a thumping 6-1 win over PDRM FC in the Super League match at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium on Friday night. Luqman Hakim got his

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NSFC’s Jovan Motika (right) is challenged by a PDRM player during the Super League match at the Stadium Selayang yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

RM13,250,984.17

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RM217,265.90

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Terengganu’s treble bid in trouble

RM11,733,554.56

RM100,000.00

Africa to strengthen the team. THT will also be banking on the return of true-blue Terengganu stalwart Firhan Ashari, a former national forward. “For now, our focus is on the Charity Shield, which will be held at the Batu Buruk Hockey Stadium in Kuala Terengganu. “We need to be realistic when setting a target based on what we achieved last year. We will take it one step at a time and see how we do before setting our sights on the next target (title),” he said. – Bernama

the challenges, starting with the season-opener Charity Shield against TNB on April 11,” he said when contacted. For the record, THT achieved a historic trebel last season, securing all three major titles: the Charity Shield, the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) and the TNB Cup. So, it will be interesting to see how THT will fare under coach Mohd Harfizi Baharom, who has retained 90% of the players who featured last year, in addition to recruiting several new faces from India and South

thing possible to emulate the feat they achieved last year, including beginning preparations as early as the end of last year. “This year is going to be very challenging, especially from our strongest rivals, TNB, who have snapped up our two key players. I was even told that they (TNB) have at least 15 national players in their lineup. “But we’ll take it as a chal lenge and continue to get our team into shape. With the capa bilities of the players we have, I am confident we can overcome

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