06/05/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | MAY 6, 2026

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Weak link identified Strenghten weakness in badminton men’s singles, says sports critic Nor Bakti T HE Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) must formulate a clear and struc tured plan to ensure the country’s singles players break into the world’s top 10 if Malaysia hopes to reclaim the Thomas Cup, says sports critic Nor Bakti Alias. points, and that becomes a problem. When the first doubles pair fails, it immediately puts pres sure on the rest of the team.” Ű BY ZUJ AHSAN newsdesk@thesundaily.com

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Chelsea 1 (Joao Pedro 90+3) Nottingham Forest 3 (Awoniyi 2, 52, Jesus 15-pen) , Everton 3 (Barry 68, 81, O’Brien 73) Manchester City 3 (Doku 43,90+7, Haaland 83) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 35 23 7 5 67 26 76 Man City 34 21 8 5 69 32 71 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 35 13 9 13 54 48 48 Everton 35 13 9 13 44 44 48 Fulham 35 14 6 15 44 49 48 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 35 11 9 15 44 46 42 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: Sevilla 1 (Sanchez 50) Real Sociedad 0. 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 Atletico 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 Getafe 34 13 5 16 28 36 44 Bilbao 34 13 5 16 40 50 44 Sociedad 34 11 10 13 52 53 43 Osasuna 34 11 9 14 40 42 42 Vallecano 34 10 12 12 35 41 42 Valencia 34 10 9 15 37 50 39 Espanyol 34 10 9 15 37 51 39 Elche 34 9 11 14 45 53 38 Mallorca 34 10 8 16 42 51 38 Girona 34 9 11 14 36 51 38 Sevilla 34 10 7 17 41 55 37 Alaves 34 9 9 16 40 53 36 Levante 34 8 9 17 38 55 33 Real Oviedo 34 6 10 18 26 54 28 SERIE A: Cremonese 1 (Bonazzoli 29) Lazio 2 (Isaksen 53, Noslin 90+2) , Roma 4 (Mancini 13, Wesley 17, Hermoso 34, Pisili 58) Fiorentina 0. P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 35 26 4 5 82 31 82 Napoli 35 21 7 7 52 33 70 AC Milan 35 19 10 6 48 29 67 Juventus 35 18 11 6 58 30 65 Roma 35 20 4 11 52 29 64 Como 35 17 11 7 59 28 62 Atalanta 35 14 13 8 47 32 55 Lazio 35 13 12 10 39 34 51 Bologna 35 14 7 14 42 41 49 Sassuolo 35 14 7 14 43 44 49 Udinese 35 13 8 14 43 46 47 Parma 35 10 12 13 25 42 42 Genoa 35 10 10 15 40 48 40 Cagliari 35 9 10 16 36 49 37 Fiorentina 35 8 13 14 38 49 37 Lecce 35 8 8 19 24 47 32 Cremonese 35 6 10 19 27 53 28 Verona 35 3 11 21 24 57 20 Pisa 35 2 12 21 25 63 18

“Other countries are catching up, while we are either stagnant or declining. That is the worrying part.” He added that Malaysia has yet to produce a consistent successor in the singles department since the era of Datuk Lee Chong Wei. Agreeing with Nor Bakti, another commenta tor Datuk Pekan Ramli said that Malaysia must urgently begin rebuilding its singles strength if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for future Thomas Cup titles. He said the country cannot continue relying on doubles strength alone, stressing that a win ning Thomas Cup team must be built on a solid singles foundation with players consistently ranked among the world’s elite. “If we want to win the Thomas Cup, we have to start now. We must ensure our singles players are strong,” he said. “We need at least two to three sin gles players in the world’s top 10. Not just doubles. Only then can we have a balanced team capable of reaching the final.” He warned that Malaysia’s current singles depth remains insufficient, particularly with most players ranked outside the top 20, which he described as inadequate for elite team competi tion. “But if our singles rankings are in the 20s or beyond, we cannot depend on them. We need three strong singles players. If we only rely on two doubles pairs, it is not enough,” he said.

Nor Bakti said that in the match against China, the defeat of the first doubles pair disrupted the team’s momentum and placed added pressure on the singles players, including Justin Hoh, who is relatively still inexperienced at the highest level. “When your first pair loses, the pressure shifts to the next match. For players who are still rela tively new, that becomes very difficult to handle.” Nor Bakti also highlighted structural issues within Malaysia’s singles development pipeline, particularly the low world rankings of backup players. “Our singles players are struggling because their rankings are too low to compete in major tournaments. To play in top-tier events like Super 1000, you need to be in the top 30. If you are not there, you are stuck playing qualifiers or lower level tournaments.” He explained that competing through qualifi cation rounds places additional physical strain on players, often requiring multiple matches in a short span. “You might have to play two or three matches in a day just to qualify, and then continue in the main draw. That takes a toll.” Nor Bakti also warned that Malaysia risks fal ling behind as smaller badminton nations con tinue to improve.

He said Malaysia’s 3-0 defeat to China in the 2026 Thomas Cup quarterfinals last week once again highlighted long-standing weaknesses, par ticularly in the singles department, which he described as the team’s biggest liability. “We cannot continue to rely on luck or past reputation. If we want to go far in the Thomas Cup, we must have singles players in the top 10. Right now, that is our main weakness,” he told theSun when contacted. While acknowledging that China may not be as dominant as in previous eras, Nor Bakti stressed that it would be inaccurate to label them as a diminished force. “They are still the best team in the world. The issue is not China – the issue is our own perform ance, which is still disappointing,” he added. Nor Bakti also pointed out that Malaysia’s inability to consistently deliver points in singles has placed excessive pressure on the doubles pairs. “We cannot depend on singles to contribute

Noraqilah concedes experience gap to top pair RISING national women’s doubles shuttler Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan admitted there remains a gap between her performance and that of the country’s top pair, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, particularly in terms of maturity and experience on court. National women’s doubles shuttler Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan. – BERNAMAPIC

Pearly eyes Malaysia masters return after Uber cup side-lining PEARLY TAN, sidelined from the 2026 Uber Cup by injury, is eyeing a return at the Malaysia Masters from May 19 to 24 at Unifi Arena, Bukit Jalil. Pearly said her recovery has pro gressed well after three weeks of treat ment, in fact, she is now pain-free and back in phased training. “I feel very relieved as I am no longer in pain and my condition is improving. My focus now is to gradually return to training in a phased manner,” she told reporters yesterday at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara. Pearly confirmed the injury was a back muscle tear, an issue that has affected her before and that she is taking a cautious approach to recovery. “It’s a back injury, a muscle tear. I suf fered a very serious injury three years ago. The decision (to withdraw from the Uber Cup) was not mine alone. After dis cussions with doctors and my family, they were very worried because it involves the back, which is more com plex than an ankle injury. “I almost reached a point where I couldn’t play anymore. So, this time around, I have to be very cautious,” she said. Tan said it was disappointing to watch the Uber Cup from the sidelines, but seeing the younger players perform motivated her. She praised the junior pairs for their strong performances, saying Malaysia has the depth to compete internation ally. “It was definitely sad not being with the team, but watching the juniors per form made me feel proud and even more spirited. They showed that we have a bright future,” she said. Pearly added that the emergence of new challengers is not a threat, but rather a catalyst for her and partner M. Thinaah to continue elevating their game. – Bernama

Noraqilah, who partnered Low Zi Yu at the Uber Cup 2026 in Denmark, however said she is not burdened by expectations from fans who have begun comparing them following their impressive performances in the competition. “We are still far from reaching Pearly Thinaah’s level. In terms of experience and style of play, they are clearly much more mature compared to us who are just coming up,” she told reporters at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday. She said her main focus now is to consis tently improve the quality of her game without dwelling too much on the pressure to match the credibility of the national number one pair. When asked about the timeframe needed to reach the level of the senior pair, Noraqilah, known for her creative playing style, said she has not set any timeline but hopes to close the gap as soon as possible. On her plans for the remainder of the sea son, she said breaking into the world’s top 100 is the target that she has set as an initial step ping stone to building her profile on the inter national stage. Noraqilah and Zi Yu began gaining attention in the badminton community after they pulled off a major upset by defeating the world num ber seven pair from Japan, Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi, 21-17, 12-21, 21-19 in a group stage match at Forum Horsens. – Bernama Hiroki Nishi 16-21, 21-14, 21-19. Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Soh Wooi Yik, also paired together, lost a close match 21-14, 19-21, 19 21 to Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami. Malaysia’s hopes of ending a 34-year Thomas Cup drought ended with a 0-3 loss to China in the knock out stage in Horsens. Leong Jun Hao lost to Shi Yu Qi 10-21, 21-16, 9 21. Aaron and Soh Wooi Yik then fell to Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang 22-24, 14-21. Justin Hoh’s 14 21, 13-21 defeat to Li Shi Feng sealed the tie. – Bernama

CHAMPIONS RELEGATED

Herry defends risky doubles split

NATIONAL men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi said the decision to use scratch pairs against Japan in the final group match of the 2026 Thomas Cup was tough, but necessary for the team. He explained that splitting top pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik was based on the players’ condi tion and tactical needs. “It was a team decision. We discussed it with the coaching staff and the players, and the decision was deemed the best based on the situation at the moment. “We gave it our best shot. In matches like this, anything can happen, but at that moment, it was the most prepared combination we had,” he told report ers yesterday after a training session at the Academy

Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara. Herry said player fitness was a key reason for the reshuffle, as some were not at their best. “Man Wei Chong informed us that he was not ready to play due to a leg injury. Therefore, we had to reshuffle the doubles pairs to give the team the best possible chance,” he added. Malaysia ended their Group B campaign with a close 2-3 loss to Japan at the Horsens Forum, but still moved on to the quarterfinals as runners-up. Aaron and Tee Kai Wun, playing as a scratch pair, came from a set down to beat Kakeru Kumagai and