27/04/2026

SPORTS MONDAY | APR 27, 2026

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Vintage Azizulhasni Pocket Rocketman proves age only a number after winning keirin gold

MALAYSIA’S No. 1 Sivasangari Subramaniam staged a remarkable comeback to dislodge top seed Amina Orfi to reach the final of the Grasshopper Cup 2026 in Zurich yesterday. Sivasangari, who hadn’t beaten Orfi since the final of the Hong Kong Football Club Open in 2023, rallied from 2-1 down to triumph 3-2 against the World No. 3 and progress to the final in Zurich for a second year running. The World No. 6, who lost to Orfi earlier this year in the final of the Karachi Open, ensured she’d fea ture in the title decider in Zurich once again and her fifth final this campaign by toppling the top seed 11 7, 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5 in 81 minutes. “I feel happy,“ Sivasangari said afterwards. “There’s nothing much to say about her (Amina Orfi) – she’s World No. 3, she’s still very young but she’s at that level and a really strong player. “I was just trying to focus on my gameplan and there’s always a bit of physicality with her but I tried to stay composed, stay calm and not overthink the moment and enjoy it. I was just trying not to get dis tracted with things out of my control.” Sivasangari and Satomi Watanabe will battle it out for the Grasshopper Cup crown after the Japanese No. 1 dispatched England No. 1 Gina Kennedy in straight games. Watanabe, who had recently prevailed in the Steel City Open final against Kennedy, was too clinical against the Englishwoman to triumph 11-7, 11-5, 11-7. – Agencies Sivasangari storms into Grasshopper Cup final

RESULTS & STANDINGS ENGLISH FA CUP (Semifinals) : Man City 2 (Doku 82, Gonzalez 87) South ampton 1 (Azaz 79) . ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Fulham 1 (Sessegnon 43) Aston Villa 0, Liver pool 3 (Isak 35, Robertson 40, Wirtz 90+6) Crystal Palace 1 (Munoz 71) , West Ham 2 (Soucek 51, Wilson 90+2) Everton 1 (Dewsbury-Hall 88) , Wolves 0 Tottenham 1 (Palhinha 82), Arsenal 1 (Eze 9) Newcastle 0. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 34 22 7 5 64 26 73 Man City 33 21 7 5 66 29 70 Man Utd 33 16 10 7 58 45 58 Liverpool 34 17 7 10 57 44 58 Aston Villa 34 17 7 10 47 42 58 Brighton 34 13 11 10 48 39 50 CHAMPIONSHIP: Charlton Athletic 2 Hull 1, Middlesbrough 5 Watford 1, West Bromwich Albion 0 Ipswich 0, Birmingham 2 Bristol 1, Norwich 1 Swansea 1, Oxford United 4 Sheffield Wednesday 1, Queens Park Rangers 2 Derby County 3, Sheffield United 2 Preston North End 3, Stoke City 1 Portsmouth 3. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Coventry 44 26 11 7 90 44 89 Ipswich 44 22 14 8 75 45 80 Millwall 45 23 11 11 62 49 80 Boro 45 22 13 10 70 45 79 So’ton 44 21 13 10 77 53 76 Wrexham 44 19 13 12 66 60 70 LA LIGA: Alaves 2 (Martinez 56, 69) Mallorca 1 (Virgili 18), Getafe 0 Barce lona 2 (Lopez 45+1, Rashford 74) , Valencia 2 (Ramazani 50, Umar 59) Girona 1 (Roca 63) , Atletico Madrid 3 (Griezmann 49, Sorloth 54, 90+3) Athletic Bilbao 2 (Paredes 23, Guruzeta 90+7) . TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 33 28 1 4 87 30 85 Real Madrid 33 23 5 5 68 31 74 Villarreal 32 19 5 8 57 37 62 Atl Madrid 33 18 6 9 56 37 60 Real Betis 33 12 14 7 49 41 50 Getafe 33 13 5 15 28 34 44 SERIE A: Parma 1 (Elphege 82) Pisa 0, Bologna 0 Roma 2 (Malen 7, El Aynaoui 45+1) , Verona 0 Lecce 0. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 33 25 3 5 78 29 78 Napoli 34 21 6 7 52 33 69 AC Milan 33 19 9 5 48 27 66 Juventus 33 18 9 6 57 29 63 Roma 34 19 4 11 48 29 61 Como 33 16 10 7 57 28 58 BUNDESLIGA: Hamburg 1 Hoffen heim 2, Mainz 3 Bayern Munich 4, Cologne 1 Bayer Leverkusen 2, Augs burg 1 Eintracht Frankfurt 1, Heiden heim 2 St Pauli 0, Wolfsburg 0 Borussia Moenchengladbach 0. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Bayern 31 26 4 1 113 32 82 Dortmund 30 19 7 4 61 31 64 RB Leipzig 31 19 5 7 62 38 62 Hoffenheim 31 17 6 8 61 45 57 Stuttgart 30 17 5 8 62 42 56 Leverkusen 31 16 7 8 62 42 55 E. Frankfurt 31 11 10 10 56 58 43 FRENCH LIGUE 1: Lyon 3 Auxerre 2, Angers 0 Paris SG 3, Toulouse 2 Monaco 2. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Paris SG 30 22 3 5 68 25 69 Lens 30 20 3 7 60 32 63 Lyon 31 17 6 8 48 32 57 Lille 30 16 6 8 49 34 54 Rennes 30 15 8 7 52 41 53 Marseille 30 16 4 10 58 40 52 CHAMPIONS

N ATIONAL track cycling champion Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang proved that age is not a barrier to con tinuing his success after winning the men’s keirin gold medal at the 2026 Track Cycling World Cup at the National Velodrome in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, on Saturday evening. His success became a symbol of the extraor dinary endurance of the 38-year-old Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist who continues to com pete at the highest level in the world, thus breaking the perception that age limits the abil ity of elite athletes. Even more proud, the success came in front of his own supporters with Azizulhasni, nick named “The Pocket Rocketman”, displaying energetic cycling to defeat younger challengers including world champion Harrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands in the high-intensity race. When met after the race, Azizulhasni hoped that the success could be a catalyst for local ath letes, especially junior track cyclists, to continue to believe in their own abilities and dare to chal lenge their own limits. “I am proving to our national athletes that no matter what sport, age is just a number. It is about mentality and determination. If we really want it, we can achieve anything. “I hope all cycling athletes in Malaysia, regardless of the event, can take this spirit. They know I am not at my best yet, but I have high confi dence and a winning mentality. I proved that I can still win,” said the 2017 keirin world champion. In Saturday’s race, Azizulhasni was in last place for most of the race before sprinting on the final lap to be the first to cross the finish line, beating Lavreysen in second place and Trinidad and Tobago’s Nicholas Paul in third. The victory was Azizulhasni’s second win in the World Cup series this season after also winning the same event in Perth, Australia in March. Meanwhile, he said his focus is now on the 2026

Games first and after that we’ll see how it goes,” said the cyclist who hailed from Dungun, Terengganu. Amid rapturous applause from thousands of home fans, Azizulhasni, admitted that compet ing on home ground required exceptional men tal strength to cope with pressure and the coun try’s high expectations. “Honestly, racing at home is not easy because of the pressure and expectations. But, Alhamdulillah , I tapped into my nearly 20 years of experience at the highest level to stay focused. “My approach since this morning’s session was to take it one step at a time. For me, tonight is very special (competing) in front of the home crowd, mostly in front of my family – my wife, my children. My mother is also here,” he said after the race.

Commenting on the final, Azizulhasni said he spotted an opening at the right time to launch into the offensive and head for the finish line. “I feel that it was my experience that helped me make that move. It’s not easy to ride through the gaps... I managed to dig deep and sprint away in the last 80ms,” he Azizulhasni. – Bernama

360/26

26/04/2026

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9580 4147 0938 8598 9541

4925 1446 0076 0628 0657

6284 6527 8215 0572 3556

5240 4390 1107 6889 2876

Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in July and the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan in September. “I have no

RM4,898,080.08

5254 + 2852 8032 + 2852 2852 + 8032

5254 + 8032 8032 + 5254 2852 + 5254

National track cycling champion Datuk Azizulhasni Awang holding his gold medal in the keirin event at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup at the National Velodrome in Nilai on Saturday. – BERNAMAPIC

thoughts of going past the Asian Games. Right now it’s the Commonwealth Games and Asian

RM565,971.54

SHORTS

Mintah rescues Kuching, Turtles blow chance against NS A Jordan Mintah late penalty goal handed visitors Kuching City FC a 2-2 draw against hosts DPMM FC in their Super League match at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, on Saturday night. Kuching City opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Ahmad Danial Ahmad Asri slotted home a perfect cross from Wanja Ronald Ngah but DPMM equalised in the 23rd minute through Jordan de Paula Rodrigues. The home team then went ahead seven minutes later through Jordan David Murray but Mintah made it 2-2 in the final minutes from the penalty spot after reacting quickest to a rebound to beat goalkeeper Muhammad Haimie Abdullah Nyaring. Over at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu FC (TFC) could only draw 2-2 with Negri Sembilan FC (NSFC) in another Super League match. Home team TFC shot into a 2-0 lead via Yann Mabella and Raianderson Da Costa. The Turtles were then punished in the 77th minute when NSFC were awarded a penalty which Joseph Esso calmly slotted home. Esso struck again in the 82nd minute, netting the equaliser after receiving a pass from Kyaw Min Oo.

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Back to 3x15 scoring system THE Badminton World Federation (BWF) members have voted to approve the adoption of the 3x15 scoring system at the 87th BWF Annual General Meeting in Denmark, with the proposal passing by the required two thirds majority of votes cast. The 3x15 scoring system, which will replace the current 3x21 format, will come into effect on Jan 4, 2027. BWF president Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul said the decision marked an important milestone for the future of badminton. “The 3x15 scoring system is intended to deliver more exciting and competitive badminton, improved scheduling, more consistent match durations and potential benefits for player welfare and recovery. “By bringing high pressure moments earlier and creating tighter scores and more dramatic finishes, the format aims to keep fans engaged from the first rally to the last,” she said in a statement yesterday. “What this change does is strengthen the sport by protecting what makes badminton special and ensuring the world’s best players can continue to compete, inspire and connect with fans globally for longer,” she said.

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RM9,704,386.94

RM228,546.79

5 4 3 2 5 2 54325

43252

5432

3252

543

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