24/06/2025

SPORTS TUESDAY | JUNE 24, 2025

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Have no fear MA president Karim says association will defend athletes N EW Malaysian Athletics (MA) presi dent Datuk Karim Ibrahim has advised the country’s athletes not to be afraid when facing any crisis or issue that among the matters which received media attention this year. The media previously reported that several sprinters had decided to boycott Ballard’s training programme and had been threatened with expulsion from the programme if they expressed dissatisfaction with the Australian’s management style.

RESULTS & STANDINGS

CLUB WORLD CUP Group G: Juventus 4 (Boutouil 6-og, Yildiz 16, 69, Vlahovic 90+4-pen) Wydad Casablanca 1 (Lorch 25) , Manchester City 6 (Gundogan 8, 73, Echeverri 27, Haaland 45+5-pen, Bobb 84, Cherki 89) Al Ain 0. P W D L F A Pts Juventus 2 2 0 0 9 1 6 Man City 2 2 0 0 8 0 6 Wydad 2 0 0 2 1 6 0 Al Ain 2 0 0 2 0 11 0 Group H: Real Madrid 3 (Bellingham 35, Guler 43, Valverde 70) Pachuca 1 (Montiel 80) , Red Bull Salzburg 0 Al-Hilal 0. P W D L F A Pts Real Madrid 2 1 1 0 4 2 4 RB Salzburg 2 1 1 0 2 1 4 Al Hilal 2 0 2 0 1 1 2 Pachuca 2 0 0 2 2 5 0 QUALIFIED ELIMINATED CONCACAF GOLD CUP Saudi Arabia 1 Trinidad and Tobago 1, United States 2 Haiti 1, Mexico 0 Costa Rica 0, Domini can Republic 0 Suriname 0. MALAYSIA’S first-ever appearance in the 2025 edition of the Central Asian Football Association (Cafa) Nations Cup in Uzbekistan from Aug 26 to Sept 9 will provide the best platform to evaluate the team’s actual progress. Harimau Malaya head coach Peter Cklamovski expects his men to be tested on and off the pitch at the tournament, which brings together eight teams, including Iran and Uzbekistan, who have qualified for the 2026 World Cup. “The experience gained will be vital for the continued development of the national team,” he posted on the Malaysia NT Facebook page yesterday. “This tournament is an opportunity for the Harimau Malaya squad to bring glory to the country, boost the spirit of the supporters and continue to strengthen unity.” Hakim Danish battles to podium MALAYSIA’S sensational young rider Hakim Danish Ramli admitted that he faced a tough challenge in securing a podium finish during Race Two of the fourth round of the 2025 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup (RBMRC) at the Mugello Circuit in Florence, Italy on Sunday. He said the race saw several of his rivals displaying impressive performance and maintaining their positions at the front, particularly in the corners, making it difficult for him to overtake and lead. “I tried to stay in front and it worked out. I managed well to secure second place in the race,” he said in a video message shared by ZK Racing after THE Sepak Takraw Association of Kelantan (Gastak) has denied claims that players of the Kelantan Warriors were not paid last season’s Division 1 League prize money. In a statement, Gastak said the issue, which went viral on social media, stemmed from a misunderstanding. Each player received RM5,000 at a Sept 9 event, which included the league prize money, it said. Gastak said it had also paid out nearly RM40k in bonuses and awards, including Best Tekong and Best Right Apit (Attacker) prizes, before receiving the official prize money in October. To address the ongoing discontent, Gastak’s Supreme Council decided on May 18 to provide an additional RM500 token to each player during the 2025 Player Introduction Dinner. Citing a Facebook post by player Fakhrul Akmal, Gastak said he received RM11k over six weeks, covering salary, allowances, bonus and prize money, not including travel or unpaid leave reimbursements. BRIEFS Nations Cup best to gauge progress finishing in second place yesterday. Gastak denies withholding prize money

obtained 14 votes. He also expressed his commitment to providing more exposure to the country’s athletes to help them achieve success at the international level. Regarding the target for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, Karim said the MA would strive to ensure that athletes could surpass the five gold medals won during the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia. He said that MA needs to look at the data and statistics of other Southeast Asian contenders first before announcing the target medals they want to bring home from Thailand. The 2025 SEA Games is scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla from Dec 9 to 20. – Bernama

arises. Karim stressed that the association will stand firmly behind athletes who are the “heart” of the country’s athletics progress. He said that it is not right for athletes to be sidelined just because of external issues that may affect their focus on the track or field. “I want to tell athletes not to suffer in fear. I will defend athletes and will not sideline them,” he said when met recently. The country’s athletics have been embroiled in the issue of training boycott conducted by MA technical director Robert Ballard and it was

Karim, who is also the Perak Amateur Athletics Association president, returned to the leadership of the MA for the 2025-2029 term, after winning the election of the governing body at the annual general meeting on June 15. Karim, who had held the position from 2014 to 2019, managed to secure 25 votes to defeat his challenger, Negeri Sembilan Athletics president Datuk Mark William Ling, who

Chen Tang Jie (right) and Toh Ee Wei. – BERNAMAPIC

‘Communication with coach key to overcoming crisis’

NATIONAL mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have been advised to continue to communicate openly with their coaches should they face any tension in their collaboration on the court. Former national mixed

players including world No. 2 men’s doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, national women’s doubles Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah as well as national mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei had been announced to join the RTG. Other athletes joining the programme are weightlifter Mohd Aniq Kasdan and track cyclists Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom. The national women’s recurve archery trio Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, Syaqiera Mashayikh, Nurul Azreena Fazil have also agreed to join the Fast Track RTG programme. – Bernama Taiwan Open as their first test. However, in April, BAM announced that Tang Jie-Ee Wei were paired again following a request from both players and the result of comprehensive discussions between the coaching team and the players. The 2025 Sudirman Cup in Xiamen, China was the first stage for them to pair up again to successfully help the national squad advance to the quarterfinals. Liu Ying said that any disagreement that arose was a bittersweet moment that any pair had to go through and she also faced the same situation with his partner Chan Peng Soon once before. “We quarrelled too much. All pairs quarrel but the purpose of the quarrel was the same because each wanted to win,” she said. Liu Ying and Peng Soon once made history by becoming the first mixed doubles representatives from the country to win a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. – Bernama

to discuss so that they can achieve the same goal,” she said when met recently. In March, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM)

doubles player Goh Liu Ying said the world No. 4 pair not only needs to communicate with each other, but should also discuss more in depth with their coaches to ensure they are on the same track and goal. “Each player will see each other’s weaknesses because each wants to improve. “There may be players who feel

announced that Tang Jie-Ee Wei were separated to give the coach room to try a new combination following tension in their relationship. Following that,

Goh Liu Ying.

the two of them got new partners, with Ee Wei pairing Loo Bing Kun while Tang Jie paired with Chan Wen Tse in the 2025

like using this tactic but their partner wants to use another strategy. I think that situation (doubles) is very common. So, the role of the coach here is very important, they have

RTG to give full support to athletes abroad: Stuart ROAD TO GOLD (RTG) project coordinator Datuk Stuart Ramalingam has given his assurance that the programme will not neglect the welfare of athletes under the project who are currently abroad, including national squash players S. Sivasangari and Ng Eain Yow. Sivasangari and Eain Yow. “So if athletes need additional assistance like this, I can bring it to a meeting to get approval… if the request is suitable for improving someone’s performance, 100% support is given,” he said when met recently.

Stuart said the programme will provide the best support in meeting the needs of the athletes to help them achieve optimal performance levels, regardless of where they are training. “Support programmes to help athletes travel abroad for training, environment, upskilling and improving their overall programme are available, we see that in

Stuart said the RTG line-up includes former national top athletes such as Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi and Datuk Nicol Ann David who will help assess support needed by the athletes. World No. 8 Sivasangari is part of the RTG programme, while world No. 13 Eain Yow is included in the Fast Track RTG programme. Apart from Sivasangari, eight badminton