05/05/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | MAY 5, 2026

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F OR how long? That is the question echoing among Malaysian badminton fans following the national team’s elusive bid to end their long wait for the Thomas Cup title during the 2026 edition at Forum Horsens in Denmark, which concluded on Sunday. Malaysia’s campaign came to a halt in the quarterfinals after a 0-3 defeat to 12th times champions China on Friday, a result that once again exposed the gap between them and the powerhouse. The national side previously endured a shaky group stage, edging England 3-2 before dispatching Finland 4-1, only to fall 2-3 to 2014 champions Japan, which ultimately cost them the chance to top Group B. The lofty target set by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to reclaim the Thomas Cup, last won in 1992, under the “Tangkis 2030” blueprint introduced by presi dent, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, had raised eyebrows from the outset. In truth, the outcome surprised few, with men’s singles concerns lin gering long before the tournament. Ambition, after all, must be matched by depth and consistency. The pressing question remains: did the players crumble under pres sure, or are they simply not good enough to compete in this year’s edi tion? Nowhere was that gap more evident than in the men’s singles. National No. 1 men’s singles player Leong Jun Hao endured a dif ficult campaign, failing to deliver a single point in all three matches he featured in, marred by a straight-sets defeat to world No. 60 Joakim Oldorff of Finland, 17-21, 15-21, during the

Hard reality check Thomas Cup quarterfinals exit raises more questions than answers

RESULTS & STANDINGS ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Aston Villa 1 (Buendia 90+6) Tottenham 2 (Gallagher 12, Richarlison 25) , Bourne mouth 3 (Lerma 10-og, Kroupi 32-pen, Rayan 77) Crystal Palace 0, Manchester United 3 (Cunha 6, Sesko 14, Mainoo 77) Liverpool 2 (Szoboszlai 47, Gakpo 56) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 35 23 7 5 67 26 76 Man City 33 21 7 5 66 29 70 Man Utd 35 18 10 7 63 48 64 Liverpool 35 17 7 11 59 47 58 Aston Villa 35 17 7 11 48 44 58 Bournemouth 35 12 16 7 55 52 52 Brentford 35 14 9 12 52 46 51 Brighton 35 13 11 11 49 42 50 Chelsea 34 13 9 12 53 45 48 Fulham 35 14 6 15 44 49 48 Everton 34 13 8 13 41 41 47 Sunderland 35 12 11 12 37 46 47 Newcastle 35 13 6 16 49 51 45 Leeds 35 10 13 12 47 52 43 Crystal Palace 34 11 10 13 36 42 43 Nottm Forest 34 10 9 15 41 45 39 Tottenham 35 9 10 16 45 54 37 West Ham 35 9 9 17 42 61 36 Burnley 35 4 8 23 35 71 20 Wolves 35 3 9 23 25 63 18 LA LIGA: Celta Vigo 3 (Alvarez 14, Aspas 30, Iglesias 85) Elche 1 (Silva 82-pen) , Getafe 0 Rayo Vallecano 2 (Camello 38, Nteka 73) , Real Betis 3 (Hernandez 22, 58, Abde 45) Real Oviedo 0, Espanyol 0 Real Madrid 2 (Vinicius 55, 66) . TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 34 29 1 4 89 31 88 Real Madrid 34 24 5 5 70 31 77 Villarreal 34 21 5 8 64 39 68 Atleti 34 19 6 9 58 37 63 Real Betis 34 13 14 7 52 41 53 Celta Vigo 34 12 11 11 48 44 47 SERIE A: Bologna 0 Cagliari 0, Sassu olo 2 (Berardi 5, Lauriente 47) AC Milan 0, Juventus 1 (Vlahovic 62) Verona 1 (Bowie 34) , Inter Milan 2 (Thuram 45+1, Mkhitaryan 80) Parma 0. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Inter 35 26 4 5 82 31 82 Napoli 35 21 7 7 52 33 70 Milan 35 19 10 6 48 29 67 Juventus 35 18 11 6 58 30 65 Como 35 17 11 7 59 28 62 Roma 34 19 4 11 48 29 61 BUNDESLIGA: Freiburg 1 Wolfsburg 1, Borussia Moenchengladbach 1 Borussia Dortmund 0, St Pauli 1 Mainz 2. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Bayern 32 26 5 1 116 35 83 Dortmund 32 20 7 5 65 32 67 RB Leipzig 32 19 5 8 63 42 62 Leverkusen 32 17 7 8 66 43 58 Stuttgart 32 17 7 8 66 46 58 Hoffenheim 32 17 7 8 64 48 58 Freiburg 32 12 8 12 45 53 44 FRENCH LIGUE 1: Lille 1 Le Havre 1, Strasbourg 1 Toulouse 2, Paris FC 4 Brest 0, Auxerre 3 Angers 1, Lyon 4 Rennes 2. TOP 6 P W D L F A Pts Paris SG 31 22 4 5 70 27 70 Lens 31 20 4 7 61 33 64 Lyon 32 18 6 8 52 34 60 Lille 32 17 7 8 51 35 58 Rennes 32 16 8 8 56 46 56 Monaco 32 16 6 10 56 48 54

three, including an upset over Japan’s world No. 20 Koki Watanabe (21-13, 21-19) in the final Group B tie. Malaysia’s biggest weapon and their top men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, found them selves unable to turn the tide when it mattered most, particularly against China’s formidable duo Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang in the last eight. Malaysia’s decision to reshuffle their doubles combinations by split ting Aaron and Wooi Yik to partner Tee Kai Wun and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, respectively, in the final group stage clash against Japan also raised questions of its impact on rhythm and momentum heading into the last eight. Whether that tactical gamble dis rupted their sharpness is debatable, but as an experienced pair, Aaron and Wooi Yik are expected to deliver regardless of circumstances. If Malaysia continues to rely heav ily on its doubles without strengthen ing the singles department with the current pool of players available, a difficult path may lie ahead in future editions. Despite the disappointment in the Thomas Cup Finals 2026, there were encouraging signs from the national women’s squad in the Uber Cup Finals 2026 after they reached the quarterfinals for the first time in 16 years. With top women’s doubles player Pearly Tan sidelined due to a back

group stage. Second singles player Justin Hoh, ranked world No. 44, flashed promise but fell short overall. He secured one group win over Finland’s Kalle Koljonen (21-14, 21-12) while strug gling against higher seeds like Japan’s world No. 19 Yushi Tanaka (15-21, 12-21) and China’s world No. 7 Li Shi Feng (14-21, 13-21). The inconsistency has become a growing concern, particularly under the guidance of national coaching director Kenneth Jonassen, who has previously worked with world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen from Denmark. Despite Jonassen’s arrival last year, progress in the singles camp has yet to translate into results as Jun Hao is still searching for a breakthrough title, while Justin’s best showing remains a runner-up finish at the 2025 Macau Open. The 51-year-old Dane himself had stressed that players must take ownership of their development rather than relying solely on coach ing, underlining the need for greater accountability within the squad. Professional men’s singles player Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin made little impact in his sole outing, losing 16 21, 15-21 to England’s world No. 153 Cholan Kayan in the Group B opener. Amid Malaysia’s singles struggles, professional men’s singles shuttler, world No. 82 Lee Zii Jia, provided the silver lining as their most consistent performer, notching three wins from

injury before the tournament, the national squad, with half of whom were debutants, still managed to pro duce a creditable showing. Malaysia opened their Group B campaign by edging Turkiye 3-2 and outplaying South Africa 5-0, before suffering a 1-4 defeat to six-time champions Japan. Their journey ended in the last eight following a 0 3 loss to defending champions China. Young women’s doubles pair Low Zi Yu-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan emerged as the standout performers, highlighted by a stunning upset over world No. 7 duo Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi, 21-17, 12-21, 21-19, to secure Malaysia’s only point against Japan. Another pair, Ong Xin Yee Carmen Ting, also impressed despite falling to world No. 1 pair Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning, 14-21, 21-16, 13-21, in their first-ever meeting, during the last eight tie against China. National No. 1 women’s singles K. Letshanaa, on the other hand, showed significant improvement by showing great fighting spirit against top-tier opponents despite going down to world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 19-21, 17-21 and world No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi from China 17-21, 18-21. Promise shows, but BAM cannot rest on its laurels and must keep building its women’s shuttlers for a stronger next outing. – Bernama

Yu Qi’s grit powers China to Thomas Cup triumph

World no. 1 China’s Shi Yu Qi reacts during the men’s singles final match at the 2026 Thomas Cup Finals at Forum Horsens yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

strong resistance from Christo 21-16, 16 21, 21-17 in a pulsating opener. France hit back in style as their second singles and world No. 10 Alex Lanier deliv ered a composed display to stun world No. 7 Li Shi Feng 21-13, 21-10 in 43 minutes, levelling the tie. However, the Asian team wrestled back control in the third match as world No. 15 Weng Hong Yang edged world No. 17 Toma Junior Popov 22-20, 20-22, 21-19 in a tense 96-minute battle. With the title on the line, Ji Ting and partner Ren Xiang Yu stepped up to deliver a knockout blow, prevailing against world No. 52 Eloi Adam-Leo Rossi, 21-13, 21-16. Toma Junior Popov called the experi ence “amazing,“ hailing his team’s fighting spirit despite China ending France’s dream run to a historic Thomas Cup triumph. “Just amazed. The team is proud of it. We fought and maybe deserved a little bit more, but we showed a great battle on the court. It was crazy,” he said. The 27-year-old also believed the defeat would only fuel France’s hunger for future success in the prestigious badmin ton team tournament. – Bernama

CHINA’S men’s doubles player He Ji Ting paid tribute to team captain Shi Yu Qi, crediting the world No. 1 men’s singles shuttler’s resilience for inspiring the team to retain the Thomas Cup, sealing the 2026 title with a 3-1 final win over France at Forum Horsens yesterday morning. Ji Ting said even though Yu Qi was not at his physical best, having struggled with a stomach illness recently, his spirit in the opening match of the final tie against world No. 4 Christo Popov set the tone for China’s successful title defence. “Yu Qi faced such a big challenge. Combined with his physical condition, he had gastroenteritis and wasn’t feeling well and was under a lot of pressure, but he per sisted throughout. “As a member of this team and as a leader, he acted as a stabilising force,” he said in a post-match interview. Despite strong resistance from France, Ji Ting said he was pleased that his team mates kept their composure, expressed themselves freely and ultimately brought home the trophy for the 12th time. China drew first blood when Yu Qi sur vived an 85-minute battle to hold off

CHAMPIONS RELEGATED

Rajan confident NSFC can move up Super League ladder

NEGERI SEMBILAN FC (NSFC) still have a chance to improve their position in the Super League standings despite only managing a draw in their latest match against Melaka FC on Sunday night, according to interim head coach K. Rajan. He said the Hobin Jang Hobin squad still have two matches remaining this season and must secure maximum points to keep their hopes of climbing the league table alive.

did not lose concentration. We made many changes in the second half as we were concerned about their fast right-sided attack,” he said. Commenting on the upcoming match against Kuching City FC, he said the team will give full commitment to achieve a positive result, while acknowledging that the match is expected to be tough as Kuching City FC are a balanced and experienced side in the league. – Bernama

With the result, NSFC remain in seventh place with 25 points, behind Imigresen FC who have 28 points, while Melaka FC sit in 11th place with 18 points. Meanwhile, Melaka FC head coach E. Elavarasan said his team were fortunate not to concede despite NSFC creating several dangerous chances in the match. “After the penalty (missed by NSFC), we stayed focused and

“We can still keep fighting as there are two matches left and we need to collect maximum points… we need to secure the full six points from both matches to move up the league standings,” he said. He told reporters this after the match, which saw NSFC settle for a point following a goalless draw with Melaka FC at Stadium Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Paroi, Seremban, last night.