Category: Sports

KUALA LUMPUR, The national Under-23 (U-23) football squad plans to do their best against Uzbekistan in their first match of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar tomorrow, despite being the underdogs.

Head coach Juan Torres Garrido said Uzbekistan may be known as a strong and favourite team but his players are more than ready to meet any challenge.

“We know that facing this opponent is challenging but we are in our very best spirits after going through a long period of training.

“So we are happy to be here representing Malaysia and we are looking forward to improve our results,” he said at a virtual pre-match press conference today.

The Harimau Muda squad have been drawn in Group D, and will face Uzbekistan tomorrow, and then Vietnam on April 20, and finally Kuwait on April 23, after qualifying for the tournament for the third time, having played in 2018 and 2022.

The national squad’s best achievement in this tournament was reaching the quarterfinals in 2018 under Datuk Ong
Kim Swee.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

ALOR SETAR, Kedah Darul Aman FC (KDA FC) is urging supporters as well as other parties to help the club financially to maintain its National License to compete in the Super League this season.

KDA FC owner Tan Sri Dr Mohd Daud Bakar said as of 3 pm today, KDA FC had managed to collect 90 per cent of the funds to pay off the remaining 50 per cent of salary arrears for Malaysian Football League (MFL) licensing purposes.

“Regarding KDA FC’s current liabilities, we have reached the final stage of the settlement of financial arrears in 2023 and full settlement of arrears before April 20 (2024).

“So, we are urging supporters to come together to help settle the required amount before the set date through the schemes that will be offered such as the sale of season passes, membership cards, pre-season jerseys and several other products,” he said at the press conference here, today.

Mohd Daud said he was confident that the remaining 10 per cent could be achieved based on the support and commitment shown by the San
g Kenari’s supporters.

Previously, the First Instance Body (FIB) announced that KDA FC was subject to a three-point penalty for the 2024/25 Super League competition and a fine of RM50,000 following the failure to fully settle salary arrears for 2023.

FIB chairman Sheikh Mohd Nasir Sheikh Mohd Sharif reportedly said that KDA FC had been given until March 30, 2024, to settle the arrears, but the club failed to comply with the conditions set by FIB.

He said if KDA FC failed to make full payment of salary arrears for the year 2023 or submit proof of financial documents to settle the payments by 5 pm on April 20, 2024, KDA FC’s National License could be revoked and the club would not be eligible to compete in the 2024/25 Super League season.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SEPANG, Up and rising national women’s track cycling star Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri’s decision not to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri this year to participate in an international championship has paid off following an announcement that she has unofficially qualified for her first ever Olympic Games in Paris.

Acting Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) deputy president Datuk Amarjit Sing Gill confirmed that Nurul Izzah, along with Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom had unofficially qualified for the Paris Olympics based on the points collected by the trio, with the official list scheduled to be sent to the National Olympic Council this month.

‘I feel that this year’s Raya is worth it, I didn’t return empty-handed, there was a result even though I placed eighth but it’s very meaningful because I never got past the first round. It’s also one of my biggest achievements.

‘My dream is to do better in Paris than what I did in Milton and I hope I can improve my time in the eve
nt, as the Olympics are a big and vital step for me,’ the 20-year-old told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 here today after returning from the UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup in Milton, Canada.

Meanwhile, national cycling head coach John Beasley said that Nurul’s debut at Paris will be the best preparation for her to face the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

‘She is in the LA28 (Los Angeles 2028) project, she will go to Paris to gain exposure and experience. She is a rider with great potential and was at the same age as Datuk Azizulhasni when he started making a name.

“They are almost the same, small and explosive. We gave her the exposure she needed and it is now starting to give positive results. There are no high hopes for Izzah in Paris, if she can win a medal it would be great but our main target is the 2028 Olympics,’ he said.

Nurul Izzah’s qualification makes her the second Malaysian women cyclist to compete at the Olympic Games after Fatehah Mustapha represent
ed Malaysia in cycling at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Nurul Izzah, who will the first Malaysian woman to compete in two events, the keirin and the sprint at the Games, shot to public view after winning the gold in the keirin and 500 metre time trial at the 2024 Asian Cycling Championship in India last February.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Head coach Sarjit Singh has dropped a hint that, the composition of the Speedy Tigers squad for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup next month, would be spearheaded by four senior players.

The four are goalkeeper Muhammad Hafizuddin Othman, 32, defender Muhammad Marhan Jalil, 34, midfielder Mohd Fitri Saari, 31, and Faizal Saari, 33, all of whom have extensive experience with the national men’s hockey team. The Saari brothers, who is playing at the Bangladesh Hockey League, will join the training squad end of this month.

Sarjit, who is now in rebuilding the team towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games dreams, is set to shortlist 18-players from his current 30-member team for the invitational tournament in Ipoh from May 4-11 on May 1st.

‘I hope these four will be, of course be fit and are injury free. We are going to build a team around them, because others are very young…Hope these four players will guide the juniors

‘However, not every player has a guaranteed place, we want to give a fair chance
to all. However, as senior players they have to guide the young players, and we will assess them in terms of training,’ he told reporters when met during training session at the National Hockey Stadium here, today.

The 62-year-old Olympian will announce the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup squad after their first friendly against the world number 10 New Zealand on May 1 in Ipoh, in time to test them in a second friendly against world number 11 South Korea the following day.

Sarjit said, the players will have about 35-40 matchplays to prove their worth this year.

After the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which is Sarjit’s first assignment, the Speedy Tigers are set to play in the Nations Cup tournament in Poland from May 30 to June 1 and the Asian Champions Trophy from Sept 8-17 in Inner Mongolia, China.

‘Not easy for the players to be in the final 18 list. It is also not easy for the coaches to select because this group consists a lot of young players, but we can have a good rotation of players for these tournaments,’ he add
ed.

World number 13 Malaysia, will start their title defence in Ipoh against three-time champion Pakistan on May 4, followed by matches against Canada (May 5), two-time champion New Zealand (May 7), Japan (May 8) and three-time champion South Korea (May 10).

Based on the tournament format, the top two teams after the round robin will challenge for the title, while the third-fourth placed teams will fight for the bronze.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia will continue with the training programme planned by TeamLZJ’s coaching director Wong Tat Meng to prepare for the Thomas Cup 2024 in Chengdu, China from April 27 to May 5.

TeamLZJ, in a statement on X today, said Zii Jia’s training programme, which is independent of the Thomas Cup team, has been discussed with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and is supported by Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky and administration head Michelle Chai.

It said the training programme and arrangements planned by Tat Meng will prepare Zii Jia to perform his best during the Thomas Cup and the five tournaments he plans to participate in after that.

TeamLZJ thanked BAM, Rexy and Michelle for their understanding and trust in managing Zii Jia’s training plan in this hectic tournament schedule leading up to the Paris Olympics.

‘Zii Jia is very much looking forward to link up with the squad on April 24,’ it said.

The statement said Zii Jia star
ted his Thomas Cup preparations on Monday, one day after returning from the Badminton Asia Championships 2024 in Ningbo, China.

BAM have also named Ng Tze Yong, Leong Jun Hao, Cheam June Wei and Justin Hoh for singles duty while the doubles will be spearheaded by 2022 world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, followed by Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Muhammad Haikal Nazri.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria expressed the hope that national diver Wendy Ng’s impressive array of achievements would inspire the younger generation to uphold Malaysia’s dominance in the women’s diving event.

Mohamad Norza hailed Wendy as an extraordinary diver upon her retirement announcement yesterday.

He said the void left by the 30-year-old diver who made three appearances at the Olympic Games opens up space for young athletes to come forward.

‘We bid farewell to yet another remarkable woman diver. We deeply appreciate her contributions and dedication throughout her career that had brought glory to Malaysia.

‘I hope Wendy’s achievements will inspire the younger generation to continue Malaysia’s dominance in the women’s diving event. The challenge is for the back-up divers to step up and quickly fill in the void left by Wendy,’ he said in OCM’s official Facebook post today.

Wendy made her Olympic debut at the London 2012 edition followed by R
io 2016 and her final appearance at Tokyo 2020.

Apart from that, she also competed in a list of major sporting events by representing Malaysia at the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the SEA Games during her 20-year diving career.

While representing Malaysia, Wendy won a total of seven golds and three silvers in the SEA Games; Asian Games (four silvers); Commonwealth Games (one silver), World Series Championships (four bronze) and Grand Prix Championships (seven gold, one silver and two bronze).

Yesterday, the 30-year-old diver announced her retirement on her Instagram.

‘Today with a grateful and thankful heart, I bid farewell to the pool that’s been my sanctuary and stage for countless unforgettable moments. From Olympic triumphs to cherishing each victory, was fueled by dedication and unwavering support.

‘This retirement marks the beginning of a new chapter Thank you all for being part of this extraordinary journey. Here’s to new a beginning guided by courage and fueled with passion,’ she wrote.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Three national track cyclists led by Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang have unofficially qualified for the Paris Olympic Games in the sprint and keirin events, according to Asean Cycling Federation (ACF) secretary-general Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill.

He said the other two cyclists are Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri.

‘This is based on the points collected. Nurul Izzah competed in the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Track Nations Cup in Canada yesterday and UCI will issue the latest rankings list this afternoon or tonight.

‘On April 22, the International Olympic Committee will send an official list (of qualifiers) to all National Olympic Committees,’ Amarjit, who is also a UCI committee member, told Bernama today.

So far, six Malaysians – Bertrand Rhodict Lises (diving), 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) – have confirmed thei
r places in the Paris Olympics, which will be held from July 26 to Aug 11.

If Nurul Izzah Izzati, 20, confirms her slot in the Olympics, the Kedahan will be joining Bertrand Rhodict and Ariana Nur Dania, both 19; Mohamad Aniq, 22; and Nur Shazrin and Nur Aisyah, both 26 – in making their Olympics debut.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency