Category: Sports

KUALA LUMPUR, A lack of match fitness is the main factor behind the national Under-23 squad’s failure to give their best in the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup in Qatar, said Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) technical director Scott O’Donell.

He attributed that to the Harimau Muda players’ lack of playing time and the long transition time of the Malaysia League (M-League).

Malaysia returned home without any points after losing all their three Group D matches – 2-0 to Uzbekistan, 2-0 to Vietnam and 2-1 to Kuwait.

“If we look at the statistics, not many players in this squad had any playing time with their clubs in last season’s Super League campaign…only four of them did.

“Goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel played for 2,250 minutes with Negeri Sembilan FC; Mukhairi Ajmal had 1,684 minutes with Selangor FC; T. Saravanan 1,252 minutes with Kuala Lumpur City; and Safwan Mazlan 1,063 minutes with Terengganu FC,’ he said in a statement shared by FAM today.

As for the long transiti
on time of the (M-League), he said the players had to wait a long time for the 2024/25 season to start on May 10, thus affecting their fitness levels ahead of the Under-23 Asian Cup.

As such, O’Donell stressed that FAM should look at restructuring age-group tournaments in the country so that the young players would get to play in more competitive matches.

He also hoped that the national Under-23 squad would make better use of the FIFA international window by holding more international friendlies.

“We need to give them more international exposure to play as a team and not just prepare our teams in an ad hoc manner just before the Under-23 tournaments like the AFC (Asian Cup) and SEA Games.

“If we cannot arrange an international friendly for the Under-23 team, we should at least have a training camp to give the coaches a chance to get to know the players during every FIFA international window period,’ he said.

O’Donell said he and the Harimau Muda head coach, Juan Torres Garrido will prepare a full report
on the Under-23 Asian Cup failure to be presented to the FAM National Team Management Committee.

KUALA LUMPUR, With fewer than 100 days until the 2024 Paris Olympic Games kick off, national diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises is intensifying his efforts to increase the degree of difficulty of his dives by training in different countries.

Bertrand, 19, who is currently based in Singapore (from April 15 to May 30), will continue his journey to Australia to participate in the Diving Championships in Brisbane before heading to another country in preparation for the world’s biggest sporting event.

As the only national diver at the quadrennial event, Bertrand admits feeling a bit “lonely” without the company of senior divers like Datuk Pandelela Rinong during this process, but he considers it an inevitable part of his career as a national athlete.

“I will be training in Singapore, Australia, and another country that I have not been informed of by the Malaysian Swimming Federation (MAS). I won’t be returning to Malaysia, so from that last country, I’ll go straight to Paris.

“The nervousness about going to Paris i
s there, but I am looking forward to it. This Olympics is definitely about gaining experience, but if luck is on my side, I might get on the podium,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.

Bernama previously reported that Bertrand had to sacrifice his participation in two 2024 Diving World Cup series events to focus on shifting from a 3.0 to a 3.7 difficulty in the back 3½ dive with pike routine.

When asked about any changes in his diet, Bertrand, who is accompanied by coach Nor Aznizal Najib in Singapore, said he is more cautious about food content and is taking supplements to boost his fitness level.

He believes all MAS plans are progressing smoothly, especially as his wrist injury has fully healed after receiving a recent platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection.

Meanwhile, MAS Technical Director (Diving) Bryan Nickson Lomas said the decision to send Bertrand to various countries was the right one, with the diver from Sarawak agreeing to the plan.

Although China, a powerhouse in swimming events, is not
among Bertrand’s ‘learning’ destinations, Bryan is confident that the diversity of other countries will be beneficial for him, potentially boosting his chances in Paris.

“We had several options, and we chose the ones that were worthwhile and beneficial. Indeed, China has complete facilities, but other countries are not far behind in terms of quality,” he said.

Bertrand is the only national diver who qualified to compete in the Paris Olympics Games in the men’s 10-metre platform event after securing his spot at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, last year.

Eight other athletes will join Bertrand, including three track cyclists, Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri; Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif (sailing), Johnathan Wong (shooting), Ariana Nur Dania Mohd Zairi (archery), Nur Aisyah Mohd Zubir (road cycling), and Mohamad Aniq Kasdan (weightlifting).

Six of them, including Bertrand Rhodict and Ariana Nur Dania, who are 19 years old, Nurul Izzah Izzati (2
1), Mohamad Aniq (22), along with Nur Shazrin and Nur Aisyah, 26, will be competing at the Olympics for the first time.

The Paris Olympics are scheduled to take place from July 26 to Aug 11.

KUALA LUMPUR, Young national track cycling star Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri has described her debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as a big step in her cycling career.

The 20-year-old said she did not expect her name to be listed to compete in such a prestigious sporting event, but admitted it is just the beginning of better things to come in the sport.

The Kedah-born athlete said she is determined to work hard to deliver a strong performance in Paris.

‘It is every athlete’s dream to qualify for the Olympic Games. It’s a big step for me. I hope my career will not end here; this is just the beginning for me to move forward.

‘There is still a lot I need to learn in my career; nothing is impossible, and size is not the only measure of success,’ she said in a post on her Instagram today.

Yesterday, the International Cycling Union (UCI) released the track cycling quotas for each National Olympic Committee (NOC), announcing that Nurul Izzah, along with Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and Muhammad Shah Firdaus
Sahrom had officially qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Four Malaysian cyclists will compete in the Paris games after Nur Aisyah Zubir earlier secured a spot in road cycling, making history as the first Malaysian woman to compete in a road event at the Olympics.

With this latest development, nine Malaysian athletes have officially qualified for the Olympics, The others are diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises, sailor Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif, shooter Johnathan Wong, archer Ariana Nur Dania Mohd Zairi, and weightlifter Mohamad Aniq Kasdan, who had confirmed their places earlier.

KUALA LUMPUR, The national Under-23 (U-23) football squad ended their campaign in the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup without any victories after losing 1-2 to Kuwait in the final Group D match at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar early today.

The defeat saw Juan Torres Garrido’s squad finish the campaign at the bottom of the group standings without any points following defeats of 0-2 each to Uzbekistan and Vietnam in the first two matches.

In the match against Kuwait, the rhythm of the Harimau Muda squad was disrupted when they had to play with 10 players after goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman was shown a red card at the end of the first half for fouling Kuwait captain Salman Mohammed outside the penalty box.

Forward Luqman Hakim Shamsudin was sacrificed by Garrido to bring in substitute goalkeeper Muhammad Firdaus Irman Mohd Fadhil.

However, Malaysia fell behind at the end of the extended first half by 15 minutes through a penalty converted by Salman after Muhamad Umar Hakeem Suhar Rezwan was pe
nalised for fouling Talal Al Qaisi following a review by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system.

Muhammad Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi missed the chance to equalise for Malaysia in the 56th minute when he failed to finish a cross from Muhammad Haqimi Azim Rosli before Muhammad Firdaus saved a one-on-one attempt against Salman in the 59th minute.

However, a minute later, Malaysia faced more pressure as Emilio Peixe’s team successfully extended their lead after Talal headed in a cross from Sultan Al Faraj.

Entering the final 10 minutes of the match, Salman was ordered off the field after being shown a red card by referee Alexander King from Australia following a harsh tackle on Muhamad Umar Hakeem in the 83rd minute, leaving both teams to finish the game with 10 players.

The score remained 2-1 in favour of Kuwait until the final whistle, allowing Peixe’s team to surpass Malaysia to finish Group D in third place with one point, but still failing to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan progressed
to the quarterfinals as the Group D champions after defeating Vietnam, who had also confirmed their ticket to the knockout rounds, 3-0 in another match at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

During the post-match press conference, Garrido apologised to all the fans because his team failed to reach the expected level.

‘And coming (to today’s game) from the last two defeats it’s a bit difficult. The team tried and gave everything, we’ve been close to getting the second equaliser but didn’t manage to get it,’ he said.

The 44-year-old Spaniard said his team had several chances to open the scoring before facing an unexpected situation when they had to play with 10 players thus putting the team in a difficult situation.

‘We cannot be positive on that (results) because our expectations were different and it’s difficult to define because when it comes to performance, my analysis is one (and) when it comes to results and what’s happening in the games was a bit different.

‘We need to apologise to the fans b
ecause we didn’t reach the level we wanted to,’ he added.

Hanoi: The Vietnam Film Institute said on April 24 that it will coordinate with relevant agencies to organise exhibitions and film screenings in Dien Bien Phu city of the northwestern province of Dien Bien, and Ho Chi Minh City.

The activities aim to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 1954-2024), according to the institute.

An exhibition will be held in Dien Bien Phu from May 3-8, showing about 250 photos on the campaign 70 years ago and present Dien Bien, which have been preserved by the institute itself, the Vietnam Military History Museum and the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Some documentaries produced in 1954, 1964 and 1994 will also be screened from May 3-5.

Meanwhile, in the southern metropolis, such activities will take place from May 15-23./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The Vietnam Military History Museum in Hanoi is hosting a photo exhibition on the Dien Bien Phu battle to mark the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 1954-2024).

On display are more than 300 photos, document and exhibits divided into three parts. The first part, themed ‘Path to Dien Bien’, highlights the military victories after 8 years of waging the resistance war against the French colonialists. It also reveals the Party’s policies in the Winter-Spring 1953-1954 war situation, and the strategic location of Dien Bien Phu, along with plots, plans and arrangements of French colonial forces in Dien Bien Phu which was dubbed an “impregnable fortress”.

The second part, titled “Determined to fight, determined to win”, demonstrates the strategic determination of the Party Central Committee to open the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, the preparation in all aspects, the spirit of determination to win of the entire Party, people, and army in the campaign. This part reveals the undaunted, brave, and
creative fighting of the Vietnamese army and people on all fronts resulted in a glorious victory that ‘resounded across the five continents and shook the globe’.

The last part of the exhibition introduced present-day Dien Bien as a locality that is developing strongly, a strategic location in terms of economy, defence and security, and an attractive cultural and tourist destination. Historical relic sites associated with the Dien Bien Phu Victory is well preserved and promoted, becoming a red address for traditional education for young generations.

Speaking at the opening of the event, Colonel Dinh Xuan Hoa, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Military History Museum, said the exhibition introduces a lot of photos, exhibits and precious documents for the first time, notably the Conclusion of Commander-in-Chief General Vo Nguyen Giap at the Dien Bien Phu Campaign staff conference on February 7, 1954.

The exhibition, which lasts until the end of May, aims to pay tribute to the sacrifice of heroic martyrs in the s
truggle for national liberation as well as contribute to educating patriotic and revolutionary traditions for young generations./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Three Vietnamese female referees have been invited to officiate at the 2024 AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup finals, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has announced.

The tournament will take place from May 6 – 19 in Bali of Indonesia.

Accordingly, Mai Hoang Trang from Ho Chi Minh City will work as a referee supervisor, while Bui Thi Thu Trang from Hai Phong city and Nguyen Thi Hang Nga from Ho Chi Minh City will serve as a referee and an assistant referee, respectively.

After completing their tasks at the continental championship, Trang will attend the FIFA Referee Instructor Course 2024, which will be held from May 21 – 25 in Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency