10/04/2026

SPORTS FRIDAY | APR 10, 2026

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T HE Malaysian Football League (MFL) plans to convene a roundtable meeting involving all Malaysia League (M League) club chief executive officers and key stakeholders in the near future. MFL chief executive officer Mohd Shazli Shaik Mohd said the session had been planned earlier but was delayed due to several unavoid able matters. He said MFL remains open to suggestions and views from clubs as part of efforts to discuss the league’s direction and address current issues. “We already had plans to meet all club CEOs, but as everyone knows, several matters cropped up which caused the delay. “However, with requests and feedback com ing from the clubs, we are open to it. Insya-Allah , MFL will organise a meeting involving all club CEOs, stakeholders and board members soon,” he said after a collaboration event between Konami and MFL in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Mohd Shazli said MFL is currently working to identify a suitable date to ensure that the atten dance of all stakeholders can be properly coor dinated. He expects the meeting to take place before the end of April.

Urgent powwow MFL to convene roundtable with clubs, stakeholders to discuss growing financial concerns

RESULTS & STANDINGS

Sivasangari falls to world champion Nour MALAYSIA’S challenge at the 2026 El Gouna International Squash Open suffered a setback after national ace S. Sivasangari exited in the quarterfinals follow ing a straight-games defeat to Nour El Sherbini yesterday. World No. 6 Sivasangari put up a determined fight but was unable to contain the second-ranked Nour, who showed her class and composure to secure a 3-0 victory, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9, in a closely con tested match. The defeat ends her campaign in the prestigious tournament, where she reached the quarterfi nals. Meanwhile, Sherbini advanced to the semifinals and will face either Olivia Weaver of the United States or Britain’s Georgina Kennedy for a place in the final. In a contest which was ulti mately separated by fine margins, it was eight-time world champion Nour who came on strong in the latter stages of all three games to claim victory after 34 minutes of play. From game ball down in an entertaining opener, Nour claimed three straight points to move a game up, before proving the more accurate of the two players to again power ahead from 6-6 in the second to double her advantage. Sivasangari began to find her targets with more consistency at the start of the third, edging ahead on the scoreboard with a series of brilliantly constructed ral lies. From a 7-5 lead for the No. 5 seed, the scores moved to 8-8 and subsequently 9-9 after Sivasangari clipped a regulation backhand straight into the tin. The No. 2 seed jumped on the brief window of opportunity pro vided to her by Sivasangari, draw ing on her experience to clinch the next two points and close out the match in three games. “I’m very happy to win in three games,” Nour said after the match. “Siva is a very skilful player and last time it went to five, so I’m defi nitely happy to win in three and sneak every game at the end. “It was her first match on the glass court, so I knew it would be hard for her to adapt to the court. I was hitting my targets well and tried to stick to my game plan as much as I could. “It’s a long tournament and you don’t want to spend too much time on court at this time.” In the men’s event, Malaysia’s challenge ended in the second round after Ng Eain Yow went down 11-7, 11-2, 11-8 to New Zealand’s world number two Paul Coll. – Bernama/Agencies EUROPA LEAGUE (Quarterfinal, 1st leg) : Sporting Braga 1 (Grillitsch 5) Real Betis 1 (Hernandez 61-pen) . CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (Quarterfinals, 1st leg) : Paris Saint-Germain 2 (Doue 11, Kvaratskhelia 65) Liverpool 0, Barcelona 0 Atletico Madrid 2 (Alvarez 45, Sorloth 70) .

voices and further improve on the issues raised,” he said. Recently, several clubs called for more seri ous discussions, including the possibility of holding a roundtable session involving all M League stakeholders, particularly amid growing financial concerns among many teams. Selangor FC, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), Negeri Sembilan FC, Terengganu FC, Penang FC and Sabah FC are among the clubs supporting the proposal. Recurring issues affecting the league include delayed salary payments to players and officials by several clubs, as well as rising operational costs compounded by ongoing tensions in West Asia. – Bernama Sukma 2026 hit by cost cutting THE 2026 Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Selangor this year will be organised on a smaller scale to reduce costs with out affecting the number of sports and events contested. Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari said the decision was made after the organising committee took into account the global energy crisis and its economic impact, which is also being felt in Malaysia. He said the committee had carefully considered all aspects and decided to proceed with the biennial games scheduled from Aug 15 to 24. “The cost-saving measures will not affect the quality of sports, athletes or anything related to the competi tions themselves. They are more focused on ceremonial aspects and avoiding excessive spending. “This has received full commitment from the host, the Selangor state government, and is supported and agreed upon by representatives from all states,” he told a press conference after the Sukma 2026 Supreme Committee meeting at Menara Kementerian Belia dan Sukan (KBS) in Putrajaya yesterday. Mohammed Taufiq said all previously planned ven ues will be maintained, with organisers ensuring that no additional costs are incurred beyond the approved allo cation. He said postponing Sukma could have greater finan cial implications for organisers, stressing that staging the Games is crucial to ensuring the sustainable develop ment of emerging athletes in preparation for future major competitions. “If we postpone or do not hold it this year, it will not only have financial implications but also affect our prepa rations for a bigger event, namely the 2027 SEA Games, which Malaysia will host. “So, the preparation of athletes and this (Sukma) essentially serves as a dry run for how we organise high level sporting events, which is why we made this deci sion,” he said. Meanwhile, Mohammed Taufiq said the same cost saving approach will be adopted for the 2027 SEA Games, which will be held across Sarawak, Penang, Johor and Kuala Lumpur, involving 38 sports. “We are also looking at the SEA Games in the context of the current financial climate and will adjust accord ingly,” he said. – Bernama

Addressing perceptions that the proposed meeting suggests the M-League is in a critical state, Mohd Shazli said that the situation is not as dire as portrayed. He said the implementation of Financial Fair Play (FFP), now in its first year, will require time before its full impact on the league’s stability can be seen. “(Spanish League) La Liga took five years to truly stabilise their league, while we are only in our first year and the process is still ongoing. However, we are already seeing many positive developments from the implementation of FFP. “For us at MFL, we do not view the situation as critical or the league as declining. Instead, this meeting is a good platform to hear the clubs’

National mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie (left) and Toh Ee Wei. – BERNAMAPIC

Tang Jie-Ee Wei storm into BAC last eight MALAYSIA’S NO. 1 mixed doubles pair, Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, disposed of India’s Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto to storm into the quarterfinals of the 2026 Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) in Ningbo, China, yesterday. while Tien Ci-Chiew Sien were thumped 8 21, 14-21 by China’s Guo Xin Wa-Chen Fang Hui.

It was also the end of the road for national women’s singles shuttler K Letshanaa, who went down 14-21, 8-21 to South Korea’s Sim Yu Jin in 33 minutes in the second round. Another national women’s singles repre sentative, Goh Jin Wei, failed to advance after losing to Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki 12-21, 15 21. National professional men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani also crashed out. The tournament’s seventh seeds were defeated 22-24, 21-18, 11-21 by Thailand’s Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn Worrapol Thongsa-nga.

Reigning world champions Tang Jie-Ee Wei, also the world No. 4, took just 37 min utes to brush aside Dhruv-Tanisha 21-13, 21 14 in the second round at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre. Tang Jie-Ee Wei will take on South Korea’s Kim Jae Hyeon-Jang Ha Jeong in the last eight today. There was no such luck for Malaysia’s two other mixed doubles pairs of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai and Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien. In yesterday’s second round matches, Soon Huat-Shevon fell 21-10, 15-21, 16-21 to Taiwan’s Chen Cheng Kuan-Hsu Yin-Hui,

Another national men’s doubles pair, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, also lost to China’s He Ji Tang-Ren Xiang Yu 18-21, 18-21. – Bernama KBS to remain Le Tour de Langkawi sponsor

YOUTH and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari has con firmed that the ministry (KBS) will remain as the tournament sponsor for the prestigious 2026 Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL), scheduled to be held from Sept 27 to Oct 4. He said the ministry had already obtained the Cabinet’s approval to be the LTdL’s sponsor for the next three years, starting this year. “I presented a paper to the Cabinet on April 8 for the LTdL to be placed

under KBS as the driver of the pro gramme, and we have also received recognition from the world governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), as being one of the best organis ers,” he told a press conference at Menara KBS in Purtajaya yesterday. Previously, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) was expected to take over the organisa tion of the prestigious cycling race, replacing the National Sports Council (NSC), which had organised it for the

He added that this year’s organisa tion would involve cross-ministry col laboration, particularly with Motac. Elaborating, he said that this year’s LTdL would cost RM12 million to run, and that funds would be sought from the National Sports Trust Fund (KWASN), excluding sponsors. “For this year, the RM12 million cost will be used from the (KWASN) fund, and we will strive to get more sponsor ships to make the hosting of the LTdL a success,” he said. – Bernama

past three years. Former Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh had said that KBS and Motac had held preliminary discus sions to coordinate responsibilities between the two ministries, including the race’s funding and promotional aspects. Mohammed Taufiq also said that the ministry, together with the NSC, is confident in its ability to host the race based on the experience gained from previous editions.