30/09/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | SEPT 30, 2026

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Izzat Hilmi’s calculated risk pays off

RESULTS

NATIONS LEAGUE LEAGUE A

A BOLD and calculated risk by Malaysia Pro Cycling (MPC) rider Mohamad Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil in taking on a bunch of world-class sprinters paid off when he finished fifth in Stage 3 of the 2026 Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) yesterday. His time of 4 hours, 31 minutes and 59 sec onds (s) in the 189.7km race from Sungai Petani, Kedah, to Kuala Kangsar, Perak, allowed him to be crowned Asia’s and Malaysia’s Best Rider for the stage. “I faced many challenges trying to get into the sprint zones. It isn’t easy as it demands courage, and there is also an element of luck in seeing if there is an opening for you to make your move,” he said when met after the race. Izzat Hilmi, who finished behind Stage 3 winner Matteo Malucelli (XDS Astana Team),

routes, he plans to conserve his energy and try to hold his position during the initial climbs before making a push for a podium finish. “My target for Stage 6 is to try to hang on like today. Although there is an early climb, if it ends in a bunch finish, maybe I can get on the podium. Otherwise, I will focus on Stage 7, which will head towards my hometown of Batu Pahat,” he said. Overall, MPC currently sit in third place in the Best Asian Team classification with a total time of 37:17:42s. LTdL 2026 resumes today with Stage 4 from Meru Raya to Cameron Highlands, spanning 142.3km and featuring three sprint zones in Gopeng, Kampar and Tapah before conclud ing with a gruelling Hors-category summit climb at Tanah Rata. – Bernama

Riley Pickrell (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling), Seppe Van den Boer (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) and Ronan Auge (Unibet Rose Rockets) in the bunch sprint towards the finish line, admitted that the absence of pacers hampered his chances of getting on the podium. “Most importantly, we need pacers, like Team Astana’s. My team is lacking in that aspect, but I understand my teammates are smaller in size, so it’s difficult physically to com pete against bigger-sized rivals,” he said. Izzat Hilmi’s success with his teammates also helped MPC secure second place in the Best Asian Team category for Stage 3, with an accumulated time of 13:35:75s. Mindful of the challenging hilly terrain awaiting him on the Cameron Highlands (Stage 4) and Genting Highlands (Stage 5)

SHORTS Women’s track trio secure silver THE national women’s track cycling trio of Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri, Anis Amira Rosidi and Nur Alyssa Farid delivered a silver medal in the team sprint event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games yesterday. The trio clocked 48.566 seconds (s) in the final at the Izu Velodrome here to finish behind China’s Luo Xuehuang, Yuan Liying and Jiang Yulu, who set a new Asian record of 45.370s en route to bagging the gold medal. The previous Asian record of 45.487s was also set by China in 2024. Taiwan’s Wang Sin-Ting, Chen Ching-Yun and Liu Shang-Ying settled for bronze after clocking 49.061s to defeat Japan’s Aki Sakai, Mina Sato and Minami Yamada, who clocked 49.137s. Nurul Izzah, Anis and Alyssa, however, deserve a pat on the back for breaking the national record during qualifying earlier. The trio posted 48.023s after competing unopposed, improving on the previous mark of 48.086s set at the 2025 Asian Track Cycling Championships in Tagaytay. For the record, Malaysia won the bronze medal in the same event at the previous Asiad in Hangzhou. Meanwhile, Muhammad Fadhil Mohd Zonis, Muhammad Ridwan Sahrom and Mohd Akmal Nazimi Jusena missed out on a podium finish after losing to Hong Kong in the men’s team sprint event. ‘Keep Gunung Jerai climb’ YOUTH and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari hopes that the climbing route to Gunung Jerai will remain part of the prestigious Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) cycling race calendar in the future. He said this iconic route in Kedah, introduced for the first time this year, not only presents a fresh challenge for the cyclists but has also sparked tremendous excitement among local cycling fans. “God willing, we hope all these exciting checkpoints can be retained so that we can share in that excitement together,” he told reporters at the flag-off ceremony for Stage 3 of the LTdL (Sungai Petani to Kuala Kangsar) at Taman Jubli Perak, Sungai Petani. Commenting on this year’s edition, he noted that the race boasts a unique feature by including three uphill finishes: Gunung Jerai, Genting Highlands, and Cameron Highlands. GROUP 2: Armenia 2 (Serobyan 34, Spertsyan 65) Montenegro 3 (Piloyan (20-og), Krstovic 38, Latko vic 89) . AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS GROUP E: Zimbabwe 1 DR Congo 2, Equatorial Guinea 1 Sierra Leone 0. GROUP F: Central African Republic 0 Burkina Faso 1. GROUP H: Tunisia 2 Botswana 2. INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES Fiji 2 Papua New Guinea 0, China PR 0 New Zealand 3, Seychelles 0 Sri Lanka 3, Malta 2 Liechtenstein 0, Jordan 1 Syria 1, Bolivia 0 Para guay 2. GROUP 1: Belgium 0 France 1 (Olise 88) , Turkey 1 (Yilmaz 47) Italy 4 (Bastoni 9, Frattesi 22, Kayode 27, Esposito 50) . LEAGUE B GROUP 2: Georgia 0 Ukraine 0, Northern Ireland 0 Hungary 0. GROUP 4: Romania 2 (Birligea 28, Cicaldau 62) Bosnia-Herzegovina 4 (Gigovic 12, Muharemovic 19, Tabakovic 40, Mahmic 55) , Sweden 3 (Nygren 8, Ayari 63, Gyokeres 72) Poland 1 (Szymanski 43) . LEAGUE C

Harimau Malaya stand firm Malaysia held Indonesia goalless as Cheng Hoe hailed his side’s fighting spirit I NTERIM head coach Tan Cheng Hoe praised Malaysia’s discipline and character after Harimau Malaya held hosts having very good moments to score goals,” he said.

Meanwhile, Indonesia head coach John Herdman lauded the home supporters for creating a stir ring atmosphere, particularly in the final 20 minutes. “I think, firstly, a huge thank you to the fans that showed up tonight. To see that stadium at its fullest, and to hear and feel that energy in that last 20 minutes of the game, that’s something else. “That is a real X-factor for this country, for our boys. We’re build ing a brotherhood here where they’ll fight for each other and for the cause, but when you’ve got a fanbase like that, we fight together,” he said. Herdman said he was proud of his players’ commitment and urged supporters to return for Indonesia’s final group match against Bangladesh. “We’re set up for a great Game Three. Malaysia have to play against Singapore, which is a tougher oppo nent, while we get a chance to play against Bangladesh. We’re excited for that one,” the English-born coach said. Malaysia will complete their group campaign against Singapore tomorrow at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium, Bandung, while Indonesia face Bangladesh at GBK on the same day. Malaysia currently lead Group A on four points, level with second placed Indonesia but ahead on goal difference while Singapore are third with three points and Bangladesh remain bottom without a point. – Bernama

Indonesia to a goalless draw in their Fifa Asean Cup 2026 Division 1 Group A clash at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Monday night. Tan said he was satisfied with the result, although Malaysia had sev eral opportunities to secure a famous win on Indonesian soil. “I’m quite satisfied with the result. Of course, we created a few chances and really missed a few chances that could almost have cre ated the atmosphere that we beat Indonesia on their home ground. “But of course, we still have room for improvement and we would like to take this opportunity to play in this kind of atmosphere and compete with Indonesia. We knew exactly how good the Indonesia team are,” he told a post match press conference. Tan said his team controlled proceedings better in the second half and remained composed despite Indonesia sitting deep after being reduced to 10 men after mid fielder Thom Haye was sent off fol lowing a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review in the 37th minute. “Sometimes in football, it is a lit tle bit difficult to play against 10 men because they

change their tac tical way of play ing, sitting deeper and relying more on counter-attacks but I’m still very happy with our

Malaysia’s Arif Aiman Hanapi (front) and Indonesia’s Joey Pelupessy in action during the 2026 Asean Cup match on Monday. – X/@MalaysiaNT

players for playing the way we wanted them to play, very calm and

Asian Games final the priority for Speedy Tigers, says Faizal

Ű BY ZUJ AHSAN

Gifu, securing a perfect 15 points from five matches. The goal also made him Malaysia’s leading scorer in this year’s tournament, with nine goals from five matches. Malaysia will face South Korea in tomorrow’s semifinal. The Asian Games gold medallist will earn an automatic qualification spot for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Malaysia have never won an Asian Games gold medal in men’s hockey, with their best fin ishes being silver medals at the 2010 Guangzhou and 2018 Jakarta-Palembang editions.

Hopefully, my teammates can maintain this win ning momentum,” Faizal told theSun via WhatsApp yesterday (Sept 28). The forward also said reaching a new per sonal scoring milestone had given him an added boost as he looks to help the Speedy Tigers go further in the tournament. “For now, I am really focused on the Asian Games. Reaching 300 goals has, to some extent, given me extra motivation ahead of the semifi nal,” he said. Faizal was among the scorers as Malaysia thrashed China 5-0 in their final Group B match in

MALAYSIA forward and talisman Faizal Saari believes the Speedy Tigers must first secure a place in the final of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games before turning their attention to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The Terengganu-born striker made the remarks after helping Malaysia book their place in the semi-finals of the Asian Games, scheduled for Oct 1. “Whatever it is, we have to qualify for the final first before we can talk about the Olympics.