17/09/2026

SPORTS THURSDAY | SEPT 17, 2026

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JOHOR DARUL TA’ZIM (JDT) were held to a 1-1 draw by Thailand’s Buriram United in their 2026/2027 AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) East Zone opening match at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri on Tuesday night, despite head coach Xisco Munoz praising his players’ intensity and commitment. Munoz said JDT had controlled much of the match and created enough chances to secure all three points, but was disappointed with the result. “About the game, it’s simple. I think we had control, we had our important chances. I’m not proud of the result, but I’m proud of my players for their capacity and how they gave 100% on the pitch,” he said during the post-match press conference. JDT took the lead in the 26th min ute when Oscar Arribas finished from inside the penalty box after receiving a pass from Marcos Guilherme. Buriram responded strongly and came close to equalising in the 38th minute, but JDT goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi kept out Guilherme Bissoli Campos’ effort after it was deflected. The visitors eventually drew level in the 43rd minute through Stefan Schimmer, who converted after receiving the ball from Darlan Pereira Mendes. JDT were handed a numerical advantage in the 57th minute when Buriram captain Ken Dougall was sent off for a foul on Nacho Mendez. However, the home side could not capitalise and came closest to retak ing the lead in the 87th minute when Bergson Da Silva’s penalty was saved by Buriram goalkeeper Etheridge. The numbers were restored in the 90th minute when JDT defender Eddy Silvestre Israfilov was sent off for a foul on Alexandru Tudorie. Munoz said he would analyse the match thoroughly to identify areas for improvement and fine-tune the team’s tactical approach ahead of their next fixtures. Meanwhile, Buriram head coach Mario Fernando was delighted with his team’s composure in securing a point away from home, particularly against JDT in front of their passion ate supporters. “Johor are a big team, but so are we, and we have very good players. For my squad to come here under these conditions and secure a 1-1 draw is an amazing result,” he said. – Bernama Munoz praises JDT’s intensity despite draw

‘Azeem can retain bronze, sub-10 not realistic’ NATIONAL sprint head coach Thabo Matebedi believes Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi is capable of retaining his men’s 100m bronze medal at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, although he feels a sub-10-second timing remains beyond the Malaysian sprinter for now. Matebedi said Muhammad Azeem, who clocked 10.11 seconds (s) to win bronze at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and holds the national men’s 100m record of 10.09s, has shown excellent physical form in training ahead of this year’s Asiad. Matebedi said he had opted against making drastic changes to Azeem’s existing training pro gramme, stressing that he did not want to risk injury by altering a system whose foundation he was not fully familiar with. With Azeem’s physical condition showing positive signs, Matebedi said the sprinter’s men tal preparation could ultimately prove decisive when he lines up against Asia’s best. “So right now, Muhammad Azeem is in good shape physically. But the Asian Games is a differ ent ball game. You need to step up. Physicality doesn’t mean anything. You also have to be at the top of your game in terms of your mindset.

RESULTS & STANDINGS

CARABAO CUP (3rd round) : Ipswich 2 (Mehmeti 62, Akpom 90+1) Arsenal 4 (Dowman 7, 47, Madueke 16, Merino 58) , Liverpool 3 (Mac Allister 21, Gakpo 54, Szoboszlai 90+1) Tottenham 1 (Gallagher 69) , Peter borough 3 (Leonard 19, Ormerod 27, 88) Barnsley 3 (McGeehan 1, Cleary 40, 74) - Peterborough win 7-6 on pen , Reading 1 (O’Connor 72) Brentford 2 (Wilson 3, Carvalho 45+1) , West Ham 2 (Morato 16, Pablo 45+2) Fulham 3 (Muniz 13, Palacios 37, Bobb 78) . ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP: Middlesbrough 2 Mill wall 2, Bristol City 0 Lincoln City 1. TOP 5 P W D L F A Pts West Ham 7 4 2 1 20 9 14 Swansea 7 4 2 1 11 5 14 Boro 7 4 2 1 14 10 14 West Brom 7 4 2 1 10 7 14 QPR 7 3 3 1 8 5 12 LA LIGA: Rayo Vallecano 2 (Garcia 3, Pedrosa 26) Espanyol 1 (Fernandez 54), Alaves 0 Valencia 1 (Rioja 78) , Elche 2 (Osorio 71, Nino 83) Real Madrid 3 (Dituro 25-og, Mbappe 33, Espi 90+1) . TOP 5 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 5 5 0 0 21 4 15 Real Madrid 6 5 0 1 17 6 15 Real Betis 5 4 0 1 7 6 12 Alaves 6 3 1 2 11 6 10 Atl Madrid 5 3 1 1 10 6 10

“There is a great chance for Muhammad Azeem to retain his bronze medal. He just needs, on that day, to rise at the competition mentally. I think he hasn’t mentally got himself where he’s supposed to be. But physically, what I’m seeing at training is 10 out of 10. “(Sub-10?) In the next coming eight months, I think so. In the Asian Games? I will be honest. It’s not realistic. “Why? If you were to look at his personal best, and the fact that he has been away from his for mer coach, a new coach has come in and he’s still following what coach Ken Harnden has done in America… it’s difficult to connect the two train ing systems,” he said when met at Bukit Jalil yes terday.

Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) and the National Sports Institute (NSI). He said the programme helped raise his physical fitness level from between 60 and 70% cent after returning from the 2026 Muscat Grand Prix in Oman earlier this month to between 80 and 100% currently. At the Muscat Grand Prix, the quartet of Danish Iftikhar, Pengiran Aidil Auf Hajam, Muhammad Umaira Subri and Muhammad Azeem Fahmi clocked 39.18 seconds to win the men’s 4x100m gold medal. Danish Iftikhar was among the national ath letes who departed for Sendai, Japan, yesterday for a centralised training camp under national sprint head coach Thabo Matebedi. With his Asian Games debut fast approach ing, he said his main priority was to remain injury-free while making the most of his oppor tunity on the continental stage. The athletics competition at the 2026 Aichi Nagoya Asian Games will be held from Sept 23 to 29. – Bernama Ready to run Danish Iftikhar puts fatigue aside for Asian Games debut “The difference between a good athlete and a great athlete boils down to your mindset,” said Matebedi. On whether Muhammad Azeem can improve on his national record of 10.09s at the Asian Games, the coach said it would depend on sev eral factors, particularly the conditions on race day. Rather than placing additional pressure on Muhammad Azeem before the Asiad, Matebedi said breaking the national record could instead be made a target after the Games, as he prepares to sit down with his team to chart the sprinter’s programme for next season. – Bernama sides had been reduced to 10 men. Crysencio Summerville was sent off after a 32nd minute altercation with Abdulrahman Al-Rashidi and, following the resulting melee, Al-Gharafa’s Ismael Bennacer was also dismissed by referee Omar Al-Ali. The first eight finishers in the expanded 16-team league phase will progress to the knockout rounds in March, with the quarterfinals, semifinals and final to be played in Saudi Arabia in April and May. – Reuters

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16/09/2026

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M ENTALLY primed but feeling the physical effects of a gruelling season, national sprinter Danish Iftikhar Muhammad Roslee (pic) is never theless ready to make his Asian Games debut at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The 19-year-old has competed in nine con secutive meets since May, with the Sept 19-Oct 4 Asian Games set to be his 10th competition of the season. Danish Iftikhar said he was fully pre pared mentally for his debut but admitted that his physical condition had been affected by the demanding competition schedule packed into a short period. “ Alhamdulillah, mentally I am 100% pre pared. But physically, not at 100% because of back-to-back competitions within quite a short period,” he told reporters at Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday. The 2025 SEA Games bronze medallist, who will compete in the 200m, men’s 4x100m and mixed 4x100m relay, recently underwent a week-long rehabilitation programme at

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Al-Ain hand Al-Nassr Asian Champions League thumping SAUDI PRO LEAGUE champions Al-Nassr suffered a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates yesterday as Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates made the worst possible start to their Asian Champions League Elite challenge. “We knew it was going to be tough, we had to give it our all and I think we did that,” said Giakoumakis. “We were really mature from the first to the last moment and we managed to score a good amount of goals and have a good victory.”

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Houssine Rahimi scored twice to put the former champions in command of the tie before his elder brother Soufiane hit their team’s third and Giorgos Giakoumakis scored their fourth in the 85th minute.

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Al-Hilal registered a 2-1 win over Qatar’s Al Gharafa in their league phase opener with a goal in each half from Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in Riyadh after both

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