14/05/2026

SPORTS THURSDAY | MAY 14, 2026

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Haretashni wants to go out on a high AFTER having to settle for a silver medal in the individual event at the previous Malaysia Games (Sukma), Selangor karate athlete N. Haretashni is determined to end her final appearance at the Games on a high note on home ground this August. expected to field new faces and introduce fresh tactics into the matches. “Now we can already see the way they fight and the tactics they use. So in the next two to three months we will improve our weaknesses and make the best possible preparations,” said Haretashni, who is also a student at a private university.

Perlis on track to realise 20 gold medals target THE Perlis contingent is now on the right track to realise its target of winning 20 gold medals at the 2026 Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Selangor, scheduled to take place this August, following the state ath letes’ commendable performances in various tournaments throughout last year. Perlis Youth and Sports, Communications and Digital, Transport, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee chairman Wan Zikri Afthar Ishak said last year witnessed impressive achieve ments by Perlis athletes on the international stage, such as at the 33rd SEA Games Thailand 2025 and the 13th Asean Para Games Thailand 2025. In addition, he said the state ath letes also excelled in national-level competitions such as the Malaysian Deaf Games (Sopma), the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) Games as well as develop ment and talent tournaments nationwide. “These successes prove that sports development in Perlis is on a positive and sustainable path, beginning from grassroots devel opment programmes, young talent identification, school-level compe titions right up to the high-per formance stage,” he said. He said this while speaking at the 2025 Perlis State Athletes Appreciation Ceremony and the Launch of the Road To Sukma & Para Sukma 2026 Selangor at the Perlis National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN) Auditorium in Kangar on Tuesday night. Wan Zikri said that at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, a total of 33 athletes from the state representing 13 selected sports competed for the country, and from that partici pation, Perlis athletes contributed two gold medals, two silver medals and nine bronze medals to the Malaysian contingent. “These achievements came through the sports of Hockey, Taekwondo, Woodball, Teqball, Sailing, Sepak Takraw and Tennis. It proves that Perlis athletes have the capability to compete and stand alongside the best athletes in the Southeast Asian region. Meanwhile, at the 2025 Asean Para Games in Thailand, Perlis para athletes also displayed extraordinary fighting spirit by bringing home three silver medals and five bronze medals through Para Athletics and Wheelchair Fencing,” he said. He said the state government, through the Perlis State Sports Council, allocated victory incentives totalling RM29,250 to athletes who won medals at the games as a sign of appreciation for their achieve ments. Wan Zikri said the target of 20 gold medals carried significant meaning as it was in response to the Raja Muda of Perlis’ royal decree expressing hope that the state con tingent would be able to achieve the target at Sukma. “The decree, expressed during the 2024 Perlis State-Level National Day Celebration, is a great responsi bility for the entire state sports fra ternity to continue working hard and elevate Perlis sports to a higher level,” he said. – Bernama

RESULTS & STANDINGS LA LIGA: Celta Vigo 2 (Jutgla 4, 48) Levante 3 (Arriaga 43, De la Fuente 57, Brugue 63) , Real Betis 2 (Hernandez 9, Fornals 68) Elche 1 (Fort 41), Osasuma 1 (Kike Barja 90+1) Atletico Madrid 2 (Lookman 15-pen, Sorloth 71) . P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 35 30 1 4 91 31 91 Real Madrid 35 24 5 6 70 33 77 Villarreal 35 21 6 8 65 40 69 Atl Madrid 36 20 6 10 60 39 66 Real Betis 36 14 15 7 56 44 57 Celta Vigo 36 13 11 12 51 47 50 Getafe 35 13 6 16 28 36 45 Sociedad 35 11 11 13 54 55 44 Ath Bilbao 35 13 5 17 40 51 44 Vallecano 35 10 13 12 36 42 43 Osasuna 35 11 9 16 43 47 42 Valencia 35 11 9 15 38 50 42 Sevilla 35 11 7 17 43 56 40 Mallorca 35 10 9 17 43 51 39 Elche 36 9 12 15 47 56 39 Levante 36 10 9 17 44 59 39 Girona 35 9 12 14 37 52 39 Espanyol 35 10 9 16 38 53 39 Alaves 35 9 10 16 41 54 37 Real Oviedo 35 6 11 18 26 54 29 CHAMPIONSHIP (Playoff semifinals) : Southamp ton 2 Middlesbrough 1 – Southampton win 2-1 on agg. CHAMPION RELEGATED

The 21-year-old said her main focus now is to hunt for gold in the individual kumite event, apart from helping Selangor defend the women’s team kumite title won at Sukma Sarawak 2024. She said preparations to ensure that ambition becomes a reality had begun as early as last year through intensive training programmes and participation in several tournaments to sharpen and test her abilities. “I started intensive training last year and this year I have taken part in many tournaments to assess the level of improvement in my performance. “Last week I competed in the 34th Makaf National Karate Championship and won a silver medal. Although I lost in the final, I could see improvement in my performance,” she told Bernama recently. Haretashni also predicted strong competition from Sabah athletes following the team’s observations in previous competitions, where the contingent from the “Land Below the Wind” is

Meanwhile, coach Loganeshaa Rao said the team’s confidence in delivering gold for Selangor remains very high, with current focus being placed on strengthening psychological resilience ahead of the Games. He said this is because karate is no longer a niche sport in the country and has produced many highly skilled fighters who could potentially challenge the team’s gold medal hopes. “Karate has become very competitive in Malaysia now, every state is improving. So I think we can see a good and competitive fight during this year’s Sukma. “In terms of training mode, technically it is the same, but the approach for this generation is a bit different for this sport. “So we need to be smart in incorporating technical, tactical and psychological elements for this generation to win,” he said. – Bernama

National badminton men’s doubles Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (left)

and Goh Sze Fei. – BERNAMAPIC

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N ATIONAL professional men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani lived up to their top billing by securing their first win to advance to the second round of the Thailand Open 2026 at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok yesterday. The world No. 9 and tournament third seeds from Malaysia defeated Japan’s Hiroki Okamura Kyohei Yamashita 21-15, 17-21, 21-12 in a 56-minute battle. Goh said they were satisfied with both their game plan and overall performance, although adapting to the wind conditions inside the arena remained an area requiring improvement. “We are satisfied with our strategy today. Although it was not 100% perfect, at least 60 to 70% of it worked, which allowed us to control the game. “One thing we need to improve is managing the wind direction in the arena and reducing the num ber of high lifts,” he told Bernama yesterday. Goh added that he and Izzuddin are targeting a podium finish at the tournament, but stressed that their immediate focus is on producing their best per formances and taking the competition match by match. The Malaysian duo, who won the Indonesia Masters earlier this year, will next face China’s Huang Di-Liu Yang today for a place in the quarterfinals. The last time Goh-Izzuddin competed in the tournament was in the 2022 edition, where their campaign ended in the quarterfinals after losing to Japan’s Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi. Earlier, Malaysian men’s doubles pair, Choong Hon Jian-Wong Vin Sean, failed to advance after los ing to newly crowned Swiss Open champions and fourth seeds Lee Fang-jen-Lee Fang-chih of Chinese Taipei 20-22, 26-24, 7-21 in a 63-minute encounter.

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In the women’s singles, professional singles shut tler Goh Jin Wei’s return to Bangkok ended in disap pointment after she crashed out in the opening round. The world No. 55 went down 13-21, 21-19, 21-16 to Thailand’s rising youngster Yataweemin Ketklieng in a one-hour battle. It was a frustrating setback for Jin Wei, who had arrived in Bangkok carrying fond memories after fin ishing runner-up at the Thailand Masters held at the very same venue in February – one of her best achievements since resuming her career despite battling stomach-related health issues. Although ranked only No. 136, Yataweemin is regarded as one of Thailand’s brightest young pros pects after clinching bronze at last year’s World Junior Championships. Jin Wei looked capable of wrapping up the match in straight games after producing an admirable fightback from 12-5 down in the second set. The Malaysian clawed her way back to level at 19 19, but the Thai youngster held her nerve at the cru cial moments to finally close out the game. On Tuesday, two Malaysian women’s doubles pairs, Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting and Chong Jie Yu Vanessa Ng crashed out in the opening round. World No. 20 Ong-Carmen lost to Indonesia’s Isyana Syahira Meida-Rinjani Kwinara Nastine 21 16, 14-21, 14-21 in a battle lasting more than an hour, while Chong-Vanessa fell 16-21, 17-21 to Japan’s Hinata Suzuki-Nao Yamakita. – Bernama/Agencies

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