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a personal best of 10.18s set at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand last December, where he won bronze in the men’s 100m event. Meanwhile, Danish said he and his coach, who is also his father Muhammad Roslee Ismail, have set a bigger target in Oregon by aiming for a sub-10.2s or 10.1s time.“Our plan is to con tinue giving our best, follow the training rou tine and make the best possible preparations,” he said. Former para swimmer’s breakdown due to stress: Mordi DEPUTY Youth and Sports Minister Mordi Bimol has revealed that former para swimmer Koh Lee Peng broke down in tears in a recently viral video due to emotional stress. According to Mordi, the athlete disclosed that several irresponsible par ties had labelled her a beggar. “After speaking to her, she admitted that the incident (crying) had actually happened many times before. She is an ordinary person and sometimes experiences mental breakdowns. A lot has happened in her life and she could not share it with others, so she cried to let go of those feelings,”he told reporters after visiting Lee Peng at the athlete’s residence

in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. Mordi said follow ing the incident, his ministry, through the National Athletes Welfare Foundation (Yakeb) had arranged for the athlete to receive psychiat ric assistance from Kuala Lumpur Hospital. He also presented a contribution of RM1,000 and a food basket to Lee Peng, who was recently involved in an accident while on her way to Bukit Bintang to sell tissues. Apart from the contribu tion from the Youth and Sports Ministry, Mordi said Yakeb had also provided the athlete with a new wheelchair, as well as RM500 assistance for the next five months. Shah Firdaus, Azizulhasni on kierin podium NATIONAL track cyclists Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Datuk Muhammad Azizulhasni Awang finished second and third respectively in the men’s keirin final at the Japan Track Cup 1 yesterday. In the race at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka, they were beaten to the gold by home favourite and 2022 Asian Games champion Kaiya Ota. Shah Firdaus and Azizulhasni are expected to return to action at the same venue today for Japan Track Cup 2. position in the domestic league and may also miss out on the Asian Champions League,” he told theSun . “So this season could end on a high if they manage to win the ACL Cup,” he added. Sulaiman also said there is no shame in JDT’s elimination, noting that they were up against a strong Buriram United side. He pointed out that JDT failed to fully capital ise at key moments, including when they were playing against nine men after two Buriram play ers were sent off. “But we understand that playing against Thai clubs at their home ground is never an easy task, even for a strong team like JDT. “Buriram are also a very solid side in Southeast Asia. So JDT didn’t lose to an average team – they were beaten by a very strong oppo nent.” On Wednesday night, both Malaysian clubs secured away wins, but only Selangor advanced to the final. Selangor defeated Nam Dinh 2-0 at Thien Truong Stadium, progressing to the final with a 4-1 aggregate victory. JDT, meanwhile, beat Buriram United 2-1 at Chang Arena but exited the competition on aggregate after a 4-3 defeat, following a 3-1 loss in the first leg at home. Selangor FC will now face Buriram United in the final first leg at home next Wednesday, before the return leg at Chang Arena in Buriram on May 27.

BRIEFS

NATIONAL professional men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani were forced to dig deep before booking their place in the semifinals of the Thailand Open 2026 at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok yesterday. In the quarterfinals, the world No. 9 pair and third seeds were stunned after losing the open ing game 19-21 to Scotland’s Christopher Grimley-Matthew Grimley. However, the Malaysians bounced back strongly to take the second game 21-15 in a closely contested encounter. Goh-Izzuddin dominated the decider from the outset and comfortably won 21-8 to wrap up the match in 50 minutes. Izzuddin credited the Scottish pair for put ting up a strong challenge and forcing the match into a deciding game. “Our opponents played a very good game today and pushed us all the way. We will do our best in tomorrow’s semifinal,” he told Bernama after the match. The Malaysian duo, who won the Indonesia Masters earlier this year, will face top seeds and world No. 4 pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty of India in the semifinals. With a 2-7 head-to-head record that is not in their favour, Goh-Izzuddin need to do some “homework” to review their past matches that resulted in defeats. The last time Goh-Izzuddin faced the world No. 4 pair was at the Singapore Open, losing 17-21, 15-21 in the quarterfinals in May last year. However, of the two victories recorded by the Malaysian pair, one of them was achieved at the Indian Open also in January last year, with a 21-18, 21-14 win in the semifinals. Goh said they would study their opponents’ style of play and discuss tactics with their coach ahead of the clash. “We will analyse their game and prepare the best strategy for tomorrow. We hope to deliver our best performance and secure the win,” he said. The last time Sze Fei-Izzuddin competed in the tournament was in the 2022 edition, when their campaign ended in the quarterfinals after a defeat to Japan’s Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi. – Bernama/Agencies SPANISH LA LIGA:Valencia 1 (Lopez 40) Rayo Vallecano 1 (Lejeune 21) , Girona 1 (Stuani 66) Real Sociedad 1 (Martin 28) , Real Madrid 2 (Gonzalo Garcia 44, Bellingham 80) Real Oviedo 0. P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 36 30 1 5 91 32 91 Real Madrid 36 25 5 6 72 33 80 Villarreal 36 21 6 9 67 43 69 Atletico 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 36 14 6 16 31 37 48 Sociedad 36 11 12 13 55 56 45 Bilbao 36 13 5 18 40 53 44 Vallecano 36 10 14 12 37 43 44 Valencia 36 11 10 15 39 51 43 Sevilla 36 12 7 17 46 58 43 Osasuna 36 11 9 16 43 47 42 Espanyol 36 11 9 16 40 53 42 Girona 36 9 13 14 38 53 40 Alaves 36 10 10 16 42 54 40 Elche 36 9 12 15 47 56 39 Mallorca 36 10 9 18 44 54 39 Levante 36 10 9 17 44 59 39 Real Oviedo 36 6 11 19 26 56 29 Note: Top five qualify for Champions League CHAMPIONS RELEGATED RESULTS & STANDINGS Goh-Izzuddin dig deep to make semis

Sprinter Danish looking for breakthrough

RISING national sprinter Danish Iftikhar Muhammad Roslee is aiming to clock below 10.4 seconds (s) in the men’s 100m at the 2026 Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo, Japan on tomorrow. The 19-year-old said the meet would also serve as part of his preparations for the World U-20 Championships in Oregon, the United States, from Aug 5 to 9. Despite holding a season’s best of 10.46s, Danish said he is keep ing his expectations realistic in Tokyo and intends to focus on gradual improvement while maintaining his current momentum. “That (Oregon) is where I am targeting to reach my peak performance. God willing, in competitions such as Tokyo, I just want to gain exposure and new experience. For the meet in Japan, I am not targeting an exceptionally fast time, a sub-10.5 or 10.4s would suffice and that would already be good enough for me and my current physi cal condition,” he told reporters at the National Sports Council (NSC) in Bukit Jalil. Danish holds

Thumbs up for Red Giants … but pity JDT missed out on the Asean Club Championship final: Safee Sali

Ű BY ZUJ AHSAN sunsports@thesundaily.com

good achievement by coach Pan-gon after guid ing Selangor to the final. We know he has strong qualities that can definitely help the team in both domestic and international competitions,” he said. Football commentator Sulaiman Hussin ech oed similar sentiments, express ing admiration for Selangor FC’s current form.

S ELANGOR and Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) legend Safee Sali (pic) has expressed mixed emotions following the conclusion of the Asean Club Championship (ACL) semifinals on Wednesday night. Speaking to theSun , the former national striker said it would have been a more memorable week for Malaysian football fans if both clubs had progressed to the final together.

“I’m proud and impressed by the spirit shown by Selangor in maintaining their improvement. Reaching the Asean Club Championship final is a form of redemption, especially as they are not in a strong

“We were hoping that both Malaysian teams would make it to the final, but unfortunately that didn’t happen,” he said. He added that JDT had also per formed well, but luck was not on their side. However, Safee praised Selangor FC’s marked

improvement, especially under former Harimau Malaya head coach Kim Pan gon, who has transformed the squad in a short period. “This is a very

Uber Cup experience fuels Letshanaa ahead of Malaysia Masters NATIONAL women’s singles shuttler K. Letshanaa is drawing confidence from her encouraging per formances at the recent Uber Cup as she gears up for the Malaysia Masters next week. fighting 17-21, 18-21 against China’s world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi in the quarterfinals. Letshanaa, 21, who is ranked 33rd in the world, will face world No. 41 Amalie Schulz of Denmark in the first round of the Malaysia Masters. remains to be done as his partner has only recently recovered from injury and resumed training this week. “Looking at the draw, my target with Arif for this tournament is the semifinals,” he said when met after yesterday’s training session.

Letshanaa said the experience of competing against top players in the women’s team tourna ment had given her a timely boost ahead of the home meet. “It was a very good outcome and also a good experience for me. I learned a lot from it. I hope to use that experience to move forward and carry the confidence into the Malaysia Masters,” she said when met after the national badminton team train ing session in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday. At the Uber Cup, Letshanaa played first singles and produced spirited performances against two of the world’s top players. She gave former world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan a tough fight before losing 19 21, 17-21 in a group match and then went down

Commenting on her steady rise in the rankings, she said she did not set any specific timeline, choosing instead to focus on consistent improve ment from match to match. Letshanaa added that she is comfortable with her current position and is determined to raise her game further. “I am okay with it. We are good with where we are right now, and our focus is on how to keep improving,” she said. In related news, national men’s doubles pair Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi are targeting a place in the semifinals at the Malaysia Masters. According to Roy King, the target is realistic based on the draw but admitted that a lot of work

“But Arif has just recovered from injury and this is actually his first week back in training. He is also wearing a knee guard, but we will try our best.” Arif-Roy King are scheduled to face Taiwan’s He Zhi Wei–Huang Jui Hsuan in the first round. If they progress, they are expected to meet compatriots Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing in the second round. Roy King also said he has reduced his weight in an effort to improve his game, particularly his movement on court. “I believe my movement on court was quite slow because of my weight. I want to lose weight and see the results, as I’m now 73kg compared to 78kg pre viously,” he said. – Bernama