03/10/2026

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SATURDAY | OCT 3, 2026

Malaysian Paper

Leclerc tops second practice ahead of Hadjar

Kimi up to the challenge

CHARLES LECLERC topped the times for Ferrari ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar to hand a timely boost to team boss Fred Vasseur in yesterday’s second free practice of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang. The 28-year-old Monegasque driver, who had spoken out in support of Vasseur yesterday, clocked a best lap of one minute and 37.528 seconds to outpace Hadjar by 0.099 seconds in an uneventful session run in sweltering conditions. World champion Lando Norris of McLaren recovered from a disappointing 12th place in the opening run to take third ahead of four-time champion Max Verstappen in the second Red Bull, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari, and Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren.

The two heavily upgraded Mercedes of George Russell – who won in Baku last Sunday – and championship leader Kimi Antonelli were seventh and eighth, ahead of Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly of Alpine. The session ended under a Virtual Safety Car deployment after Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi stopped on the track with a transmission failure, the only incident as the drivers intensified their efforts on a dusty, low-grip surface in F1’s first visit to Malaysia since 2017. It was clear by the frequent slithering and sliding that tyre degradation was a factor and will be in tomorrow’s race, when Verstappen will seek to repeat his victory of nine years ago which came just 24 hours after his 20th birthday. – AFP

- Story on page 28

Golden treble Pocket Rocketman, squash teams deliver to lift Malaysia’s tally to nine

MEDAL TALLY G S B COUNTRY 2026 ASIAN GAMES Ttl 1. China 162 80 73 315 2. Japan 71 83 85 239 3. South Korea 33 39 62 134 4. Uzbekistan 20 23 22 65 5. India 15 25 35 75 6. Iran 15 17 13 45 7. Thailand 15 11 17 43 8. Kazakhstan 12 21 44 77 9. Bahrain 11 5 6 22 10. Malaysia 9 5 16 30

M ALAYSIA enjoyed a golden treble at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games yesterday, with the women’s and men’s squash teams and Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang taking the country’s tally to nine. The women’s squash team got the day’s haul underway by retaining their title with a 2-1 vic tory over Hong Kong at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, before Azizulhasni triumphed in the men’s keirin at the Izu Velodrome. The national men’s squash team then com pleted the treble by defeating Pakistan 2-0 to reclaim the team title last won at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games. The three victories in a single day lifted Malaysia beyond its pre-Games target of six gold medals. Aifa Azman gave the women’s team the per fect start by beating Ho Tze Lok 11-9, 11-9, 12-10. Hong Kong levelled through Chan Sin Yuk, who defeated S. Sivasangari 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 5 11, 11-7, before Aira Azman held her nerve in the deciding match to beat Lee Ka Yi 11-9, 11-5, 11 4. Aira admitted she felt nervous after being handed the responsibility of deciding the tie. “It was a little nerve-racking going into this match because the score was 1-1 and I had never been the deciding player before. I am very happy with my performance today,” she said. Sivasangari, who had been struggling physi cally in recent days, said she was disappointed with her performance but delighted her team mates had secured the title. “I have been struggling for the past few days and tried to give everything I had. It was not the performance I wanted, but sometimes the body and mind are not in sync. “However, this is a team event and my team mates helped a lot. I am disappointed with my performance today, but at the same time, I am very happy that we managed to win the gold,” she said. Azizulhasni then produced a composed ride to claim the keirin, overtaking China’s Li Zhiwei on the final bend before powering across the

Malaysia won gold in both the men’s and women’s team squash events at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-4. Ng Eain Yow sealed the victory with a hard fought 11-8, 6-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-5 win over Noor Zaman, overcoming a 1-2 deficit to secure the 2-0 victory. “Overall, I’m happy, I’m really, really happy. I’m also a bit speechless at the moment because I had to really fight hard and dig very deep. “My opponent was playing really well. I don’t think I’ve been challenged like that in the last two weeks,” said Eain Yow. “I really wanted to deliver the fourth gold. I’m so, so happy to win the fourth and also the ninth medal for Malaysia.” – Bernama

the national team’s training camp in Brisbane a week late. “I only trained with the team for three weeks. But despite all the challenges, everything went smoothly,” he said. “My timing was such that I only came on strong on the final lap to make sure nobody tried to overtake me at the last minute. “The timing was perfect and I overtook them all the way to the finish line. It was beautiful, but I was really exhausted afterwards,” he said. The men’s squash team then completed the treble, with C. Ameeshenraj recovering from losing the opening game to beat Nasir Iqbal 8

line. China’s Xie Han took bronze, while Malaysia’s Shah Firdaus Sahrom finished fifth. The victory gave the 38-year-old Pocket Rocketman his second Asian Games keirin title after his triumph at the 2010 Guangzhou edi tion, and provided a perfect response after he failed to reach the sprint final yesterday. “I said I would first try to make the final, and if I made the final, I would hunt for the gold. Alhamdulillah , today I fulfilled that promise,” he told reporters. Azizulhasni said the victory made the sacri fices and challenges he had endured in the build-up worthwhile, particularly after joining

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