29/04/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | APR 29, 2026

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N ATIONAL cycling technical director John Beasley (pic) has expressed satisfaction with the overall perform ance of the national squad at the 2026 Track Cycling World Cup held at the National Velodrome in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, last week. Beasley said the women’s squad showed encouraging progress after setting a national record through Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri in the individual sprint and a personal best by Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid. However, the Australian-born coach stressed that the riders are still developing and will need time to reach their full potential. “I’m pretty proud of them (women’s team). They’re still learn ing and have a long way to go, but they’re on the right path. “I think with the girls, they’re look ing good to qualify the team through the process to get a team sprint at the Olympics. It would be phenomenal to get three girls at the Games. “If we can do that, they not only get the team sprint; they get two

Kudos! Beasley pleased with national track cycling team’s World Cup performance

RESULTS & STANDINGS

“Now the hard work starts. We haven’t done any acceleration work at all, so that’s the big block to come. There are big gains there, but he’s a quality athlete. If we can get him back to his best, there’s another world class athlete you’ve got,” he said. The three-day Track Cycling World Cup final round in Nilai con cluded on Sunday. After three rounds, including Perth in March and Hong Kong ear lier this month, Malaysia finished joint sixth with Great Britain with one gold and one bronze each, as China took the overall title ahead of the Netherlands and Norway. Looking ahead, Beasley said the focus remains on long-term develop ment and the key targets this year, including the Asian Games in Aichi Nagoya, Japan, in September and the World Championships in Shanghai in October. He said the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July will serve as a preparatory platform as the team builds towards peak performance later in the season. – Bernama

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Man Utd 2 (Casemiro 11, Sesko 43) Brent ford 1 (Jensen 87). 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 34 17 10 7 60 46 61 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 Bournemouth34 11 16 7 52 52 49 Chelsea 34 13 9 12 53 45 48 Brentford 34 13 9 12 49 46 48 Fulham 34 14 6 14 44 46 48 Everton 34 13 8 13 41 41 47 Sunderland 34 12 10 12 36 45 46 Crystal Palace 33 11 10 12 36 39 43 Newcastle 34 12 6 16 46 50 42 Leeds 34 9 13 12 44 51 40 Nottm Forest 34 10 9 15 41 45 39 West Ham 34 9 9 1642 58 36 Tottenham 34 8 10 16 43 53 34 Burnley 34 4 8 2234 68 20 Wolves 34 3 8 2324 62 17 LA LIGA: Espanyol 0 Levante 0. 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 33 20 5 8 59 38 65 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 Celta Vigo 33 11 11 11 45 43 44 Real Sociedad33 11 10 12 52 52 43 Osasuna 33 11 9 13 39 40 42 Athletic Bilbao33 12 5 16 36 48 41 Vallecano 33 9 12 12 33 41 39 Valencia 33 10 9 14 37 48 39 Espanyol 33 10 9 14 37 49 39 Elche 33 9 11 13 44 50 38 Girona 33 9 11 13 36 50 38 Alaves 33 9 9 1538 49 36 Mallorca 33 9 8 1641 51 35 Sevilla 33 9 7 1740 55 34 Levante 33 8 9 1637 50 33 Real Oviedo 33 6 10 17 26 51 28 SERIE A: Cagliari 3 (Mendy 1, 8, Borelli 47) Atalanta 2 (Scamacca 40, 45) , Lazio 3 (Pellegrini 50, Pedro 80, Maldini 90+5) Udinese 3 (Ehizibue 18, Atta 86, 90+3) . P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 34 25 4 5 80 31 79 Napoli 34 21 6 7 52 33 69 AC Milan 34 19 10 5 48 27 67 Juventus 34 18 10 6 57 29 64 Como 34 17 10 7 59 28 61 Roma 34 19 4 11 48 29 61 Atalanta 34 14 12 8 47 32 54 Lazio 34 12 12 10 37 33 48 Bologna 34 14 6 14 42 41 48 Sassuolo 34 13 7 14 41 44 46 Udinese 34 12 8 14 41 46 44 Parma 34 10 12 12 25 40 42 Torino 34 11 8 15 39 56 41 Genoa 34 10 9 15 40 48 39 Fiorentina 34 8 13 13 38 45 37 Cagliari 34 9 9 1636 49 36 Lecce 34 7 8 1922 46 29 Cremonese 34 6 10 18 26 51 28 Verona 34 3 10 21 23 56 19 Pisa 34 2 12 20 24 61 18

Azizulhasni Awang claimed gold in the keirin and bronze in the individ ual sprint, while Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom finished 16th in the individual sprint and 23rd in the keirin. Beasley commended Shah Firdaus for an impressive turn around after finishing 16th in sprint despite limited training following a major operation about five months ago due to a knee injury that affected his performance for most of last year. “He’s (Shah Firdaus) gone 10 months with no training. To finish 16th, I’m pretty happy with where we’re at. I think the rehabilitation credit should go to our physio and conditioning coach; they’ve done a great job.

keirin spots and two sprint spots,” he said. The national women’s squad impressed with a seventh-place fin ish in the team sprint featuring Nurul Izzah, Nur Alyssa and Anis Amira Rosdi, while Nurul Izzah placed sev enth and 10th and Nur Alyssa fin ished 12th and 13th in the sprint and keirin events, respectively. In the women’s elimination race, Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir reached the final and finished 21st, while also placing 19th in the omnium event. In the men’s category, Malaysia ended 13th in the team sprint featur ing Adib Andhar Andan, Mohd Akmal Nazimi Jusena and Muhammad Fadhil Mohd Zonis. National ace Datuk Mohd

isers, but would ensure that all preparations would not be disrupted and proceed according to plan. “For the state of Terengganu, there is no change. We moved from day one as soon as the last edition of SUKMA was over …appointing foster parents, foster departments, coaches and so on. So there is no impact on us. We will just continue with what was planned. Allocations are also running as usual… nothing has changed,“ he told reporters Ahmad Samsuri said the government’s deci sion to continue SUKMA is very important to ensure that the line-up of athletes is tested at the national level, before being sent to com pete on the international stage. “They’re out there, walking in the streets, but they’re just not identified. If we’ve got to go and find them, that’s my job. I’ll take that upon myself as the technical director. I need to feed the next generation of coaches with good athletes,”he said. On paper, Malaysia still has little choice but to rely on national track cycling ace Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, now 38, as its best bet in every race with the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA28) just about two years away. – Bernama NATIONAL cycling technical director John Beasley has revealed the discovery of a 16-year-old rider he described as a “raw diamond” with the potential to develop into a future world-class track cyclist. Without disclosing the athlete’s identity, Beasley said the youngster has already clocked an impressive time of around 10.4 seconds, thus making him one of the most promising talents he has seen since taking up his role in Malaysia. “He’s probably the best that I’ve seen come through in the group since I’ve been in Malaysia. Obviously, he’s a raw diamond and there’s a lot of cutting and polishing that has to happen. “I’m pretty sure he’s got the size, the qualities and the force to be a world-class cyclist,” the Australian-born coach said when met recently. Beasley said the next few years would be crucial in shaping the youngster’s development, including learning through inevitable mistakes along the way. On development plans, Beasley said the cyclist would be sent to the Junior World Championships this year primarily for exposure before targeting a podium challenge in the following edition. “I think over the next four years, you’re going to see another emerging champion coming through,” he said. Meanwhile, Beasley emphasised that talent identification remains a key priority to ensure the continuity of Malaysia’s track cycling success. He said the country has long been “starved of quality”, not due to a lack of talent, but shortcomings in identifying athletes at the grassroots level. Teen rider diamond in the rough

M’sia claims historic lacrosse bronze

positive and negative aspect carefully. “What are the strategies we should adopt if we remain, and if not, what will be our move,”he said when contacted today. Hishamuddin, who is also Terengganu Youth Development, Sports and Non-governmental organisations committee chairman, urged all fans to remain calm and refrain from making any speculations, adding that everyone would need to accept the decision with an open heart and continue to support the club. Terengganu FC has been previously reported to have considered withdrawing from the Super League due to prolonged financial issues, including unpaid salaries for its foreign players. THE Malaysian men’s national lacrosse team (pic) created history after clinching the bronze medal at the 2026 Asian Lacrosse Games in Chengdu, China, last week. Malaysia secured third place after defeating Saudi Arabia 15-10 in the bronze medal match last Saturday, marking the country’s highest-ever finish at the Asian level. Team captain Rashid Shukor described the achievement as a proud moment for the entire Malaysian lacrosse community, including those who have contributed to the sport’s growth over the years. “I’ve never been prouder to wear this jersey. We went into the tournament with the smallest squad, and we still brought home bronze,” he said in a statement yesterday. “This medal belongs to every player, coach and volunteer who has contributed to Malaysian lacrosse. We proved something today. Meanwhile, head coach Michael Wilder praised his players for executing their game plan effectively under pressure throughout the tourna ment. “The boys executed our game plan bril liantly. We came here with a clear goal and deliv ered. With the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics (LA28) on the horizon, this is exactly the momentum we need, and we intend to build on it,” he said.

Scaled-down Sukma not affecting Terengganu contingent THE decision to continue the Selangor 2026 Malaysia Games (Sukma) on a smaller scale fol lowing the global supply crisis has not affected the preparations of the Terengganu contingent. Terengganu Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said preparations for the country’s biggest sports event are proceed ing as usual to ensure that athletes are able to take on the challenge of bringing home as many medals as possible. He said the state government understands the current challenges faced by the central gov ernment and the state of Selangor as the organ Malaysia Lacrosse Association president Jake Iskandar Marr said the achievement was a culmi nation of years of efforts in building the sport from the ground up in a country where it was once relatively unknown. “From introducing a sport that most Malaysians had never heard of to standing on the podium in Chengdu, it is a journey we are incredi bly proud of. What lies ahead excites us even more,” he said. Lacrosse, a sport with origins tracing back cen turies among Native American communities, has grown rapidly worldwide with the six-a-side for mat (Sixes) set to make its Olympic debut at LA28. According to the statement, the bronze medal finish strengthens Malaysia’s credentials in their pursuit of Olympic qualification and highlights the national team’s rising competitiveness on the international stage. The team are scheduled to compete next at the Asia-Pacific Sixes Lacrosse Championships in Sunshine Coast, Australia, in October, a crucial step on the road to LA28. As such, the association have called for con tinued support from the government, sports bod ies and the public to sustain the team’s momen tum as they target Olympic qualification. – Bernama

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Turtles to decide in May TERENGGANU FC (TFC) will decide whether it will remain in the Super League or compete in the Semi Pro A1 league next season by May. Terengganu State Football Association presi dent Hishamuddin Abdul Karim said they would hold a workshop to discuss all the state’s football issues and problems on May 11, which will be attended by all relevant state football stakeholders. “TFC realises the high hopes placed by its fans, so we don’t want to make any drastic deci sions and we need to fine-tune and study every