28/03/2026

SPORTS SATURDAY | MAR 28, 2026

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No pressure, just play Herry urges calm approach for Aaron-Wooi Yik title defence N ATIONAL men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi has reminded the national pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, not to think too much about defending the Badminton Asia (BAC) champi onship they won last year. are not an easy pair to beat. So it’s better for them to focus from one match to the next,” he said when met after the national team’s training ses sion at the Badminton Academy Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.

RESULTS

DE S PITE returning to action in January, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) defender Muhammad Feroz Baharudin admitted he still needs to boost his confidence to elevate his performance. Muhammad Feroz said he also faced a tough challenge after being sidelined for a year due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury since January last year. “I feel I need to be more confident and do more to show good performance to the coach as well as my teammates at JDT, who support me every day during training sessions. “The recovery process was not easy, and returning to my current level of performance has been challenging. I also feel I need to be more careful and be more consistent with my warm-ups before matches,” he said in a video shared by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) with the media today. Since making his return against Negeri Sembilan FC in the 2025/26 Super League on Jan 9, he has played nine matches so far, including four appearances in this season’s Malaysia Cup. At the same time, Muhammad Feroz expressed his gratitude for being called up to represent Harimau Malaya for the team’s upcoming final Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Nam Dinh on March 31, after last being named for the friendly match against Laos in November 2024. Besides being determined to deliver his best performance against Vietnam, the 25-year-old is also resolute in ensuring Malaysia’s pride remains intact in the match at Thien Truong Stadium, despite their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 tour nament having been dashed. – Bernama WO R LD CUP PLAYOFF S EU R OPEA N (semifinals) : Turkey 1 (Kadioglu 53) R omania 0, Italy 2 (Tonali 56, Kean 80) N orthern Ireland 0, Wales 1 (D. James 51) B osnia and Herzegovina 1 (Dzeko 86) – aet Bosnia win 4-2 on penalties , Ukraine 1 (Ponomarenko 90) S weden 3 (Gyokeres 6, 51, 73-pen) , Poland 2 (Lewandowski 63, Zielinski 73) Albania 1 (Hoxha 42) , S lovakia 3 (Valjent 6, Haraslin 45, Strelec 90+4) Kosovo 4 (Hodza 22, Asllani 47, Muslija 60, Hajrizi 72) , Denmark 4 (Damsgaard 49, Isaksen 58, 59, Norgaard 75) N orth Macedonia 0, Czech R epublic 2 (Schick 27-pen, Krejci 86) R epublic of Ireland 2 (Parrott 19-pen, Kovar 23-og) – aet Czech Rep win 4-3 on penalties . I N TE R CO N TI N E N TAL: B olivia 2 (Paniagua 72, Miguel Terceros 79-pen) S uriname 1 (van Gelderen 48) , N ew Caledonia 0 Jamaica 1 (Cada marteri 18) . AFCO N (qualifying, 1st leg) : Djibouti 0 South Sudan 4, Seychelles 0 Lesotho 0. N ATIO N AL women’s compound archer Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh’s desire to win her maiden gold medal at the 2026 Asian Cup Archery Championship Stage 1 was dashed after she nar rowly lost in the final in Bangkok, Thailand yester day. In the action held at the Sports Authority of Thailand Archery Range, Fatin Nurfatehah had to be contented with the silver after losing by a single point to an athlete competing on an independent ticket, Arina Cherkezova, 144-145. Earlier, Fatin Nurfatehah, who teamed up with Mohd Juwaidi Marzuki, also garnered a silver in the mixed team compound event when they lost 156 158 to the Indian pair, Chikitha Taniparthi and Rajat Chauhan in the final. For the record, the national archery camp won two bronze medals, one each in the women’s team compound and men’s team recurve events. The 2026 Asian Cup Archery Championship, which began on March 21, concluded yesterday. – Bernama JDT star seeks sharpness Narrow loss ends Fatin’s gold bid

approach through video recordings is expected to have a more positive impact than using verbal instructions. “Usually, before a tournament, we evaluate players through video recordings of their previ ous actions. “If we just talk to the players, their ears will listen, but if it’s video, their eyes will also focus,” he said. Meanwhile, national men’s doubles player, Man Wei Chong refuses to set any big targets at BAC next month. According to him, his current focus is more on recovering from the right knee injury he suf fered during the All England Badminton Championships early this month. “In the first visit, the doctor said there was no need for surgery. So I hope the injury doesn’t recur there (BAC) and hopefully it doesn’t inter fere with the tournament. “So now the most important thing is to take care of the condition, take care of the rehab, strengthen my muscles, that’s the most impor tant thing,” he said . When asked about his preparations ahead of the BAC tournament, he said everything was going smoothly as planned. He said his partner Tee Kai Wun also pro vided moral support which helped him maintain focus and confidence ahead of the tournament and that everything was going smoothly as planned. In fact, he said Tee also provided moral sup port which helped him to maintain focus and confidence ahead of the tournament. “So far, progress has been pretty good. So now there is one more week to prepare for the BAC, I will also go all out there. “I think my partner is also good because he can understand my situation and covers me a lot on the court,” he said. – Bernama

At BAC 2026 to be held in Ningbo, China early next month, the former world champions, who are seeded second, will open the tournament against the Taiwanese pair of Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi Lin. Herry said he would use video analysis to help the national pair reduce mistakes when playing in the tournament. According to him, the visual learning

Instead, Herry suggested that the pair, who are ranked second in the world, take a cautious approach in every match they will face starting from the first round. “Defending the championship is certainly tough. So I hope Aaron-Wooi Yik focus on one game at a time and don’t think about the final. “Because their opponents in the first round

National men doubles pair Soh Wooi Yik (left) and Aaron Chia. – BERNAMA P I C

Taufiq targets sporting excellence

YOUTH and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari has pledged to drive the ministry towards excellence and distinction, introducing the Juara approach to strengthen youth and sports devel opment. Appointed in the Cabinet reshuffle of the Madani govern ment led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, he said the ini tiative reflects his commitment to delivering on the trust placed in him. He explained that “Juara” repre sents key values – “J” referring to identity ( jati diri ), “U” to excellence ( unggul ), “A” to being active, “R” to being relevant and responsive, and the final “A” to being aggressive.

backgrounds and religions,” he said. Recalling his appointment on Dec 16 last year, Dr Mohammed Taufiq said it came as a surprise, as it unfolded within a short period before the Cabinet lineup was announced. “I received a call from the Prime Minister about two hours before the Cabinet reshuffle announcement. “At the time, I was in Sungai Petani. He asked me to travel to Kuala Lumpur immediately for the swearing-in the following day,” he added. In the reshuffle, Dr Mohammed Taufiq took over from Hannah Yeoh, who was reassigned as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories). – Bernama

the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) as a junior ministry, its role is crucial in shaping the nation’s future. “In my view, this is one of the most important ministries. It deter mines the future of the country,” he said. He noted that the youth portfo lio is critical, as young people are the nation’s future leaders who will take over its leadership. He added that sports is a key national asset and a source of pride, as it helps safeguard athletes’ wel fare and enables them to achieve success that brings honour to Malaysia. “Sports also has a unique power to unite Malaysians of all races,

“Excellence means we must strive to outperform in every com petition we take part in. Being active reflects our aim to nurture more youths to participate in sports and leadership programmes. “Relevance and responsiveness mean youths must stay in tune with current developments and respond to current issues, while our sports must remain competitive on the global stage. Being aggressive refers to moving swiftly, proactively and decisively.” He said this in an exclusive inter view with Bernama led by Editor-in Chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj at his office here recently. Dr Mohammed Taufiq also stressed that despite perceptions of

Luqman Hakim aims to make an impact if fielded against Vietnam N EGE R I S EM B ILA N FC striker Luqman Hakim Shamsudin is determined to seize the opportunity to impress if he is fielded for the last Group F match against Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Nam Dinh on March 31. The 24-year-old, who last featured for the national team in a friendly against Singapore in March 2022, is also determined to make an impact against Vietnam to solidify his place in the Harimau Malaya squad. Malaysia’s hopes of featuring in the Asian Cup Finals on merit for the second consecutive time were dashed after being docked points by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Recently, the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee found that FAM had breached Article 56 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code for fielding ineligible players in two Asian Cup 2027 qualifying matches against Nepal and Vietnam. The sanction imposed by the AFC follows the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which upheld FIFA’s ruling on violations of rules governing the documentation of seven heri tage players. The seven players are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel. – Bernama

He also attributed his recall to the Harimau Malaya squad to the increased playing time with Negeri Sembilan in the Malaysia League (M League) this season, which led to improved per formance and confidence. So far, he has made 22 appearances with Negeri Sembilan in the M-League, contributing six goals and accumulating 1,659 minutes of playing time. Vietnam, meanwhile, have qualified for the 2027 Asian Cup Finals, leading Group F with 15 points, followed by Malaysia in second spot with nine points. Laos and Nepal are third and fourth, respectively, with three points each.

Luqman Hakim, who is back in the Harimau Malaya squad after nearly four years, said head coach Peter Cklamovski’s faith in him has boosted his confidence. He also expressed his eagerness to help the team get all three points against Vietnam at the Thien Truong Stadium, although the Harimau Malaya are already out of the running for the 2027 Asian Cup Finals. “The match against Vietnam is extremely important, because for me, this is about the coun try’s dignity,” he said in a video clip the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) shared with the media yesterday.