PARIS (Reuters) -Argentina captain Lionel Messi won a record eighth Ballon d'Or for the best player in the world on Monday, beating Norway's UEFA player of the year and treble winner Erling Haaland of Manchester City to the prestigious prize. Inter Miami's Messi, who last won the award in 2021, played a pivotal role in guiding...
PETALING JAYA: Low Hang Yee made a bold decision to quit Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in December last year and the move is paying off. The professional player has been reaping the benefits of his sacrifice with his partner Ng Eng Cheong over the last 10 months. There have not been much fanfare for the duo...
PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Ng Tze Yong can get tips from Jonatan Christie (pic) of Indonesia who had overcome a confidence crisis to win the French Open in Rennes on Sunday. Tze Yong lost in the semi-finals to Li Shifeng of China in the same tournament, mainly due to nervousness, which often stems from lack of confidence. It...
SHUTTLER Cheah Liek Hou was back to his swaggering best as he stormed into the final of the men’s singles SU5 (upper body impairment) final in the Asian Para Games. Liek Hou claimed a dominant 21-7, 21-9 win over Taiwan’s Fang Jen-yu in the last four at the Binjiang Gymnasium in Hangzhou yesterday. A day earlier, the...
PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Lee Zii Jia managed to beat one Chinese but could not get past another in the men’s singles competition in the French Open. Zii Jia went down fighting 21-17, 11-21, 12-21 to Hangzhou Asian Games champion Li Shifeng in the second round at the Glaz Arena in Rennes yesterday. The independent player had exacted...
FORMER great Datuk Misbun Sidek will reveal his new ‘’home’’ as a coach when the time is right but while the negotiation process is going on quietly, he is keeping himself busy and cooking up some plans. What have you been doing while waiting to decide on the offers you have received to coach abroad? I’ve been...
PETALING JAYA: National mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto has set top pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei a semi-final target in the French Open. Nova wants world No. 9 Tang Jie-Ee Wei to bounce back after the duo exited last week’s Denmark Open in the second round after going down 15-21, 12-21 to Thailand’s 2021 world...
PETALING JAYA: It’s happening again. Even as the Malaysian League season winds down, it has come to light that several clubs have not paid their players and staff for months. Kedah, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan and even Kuala Lumpur are caught in their perennial problem. A source close to the Kedah team revealed that the team have not...
PETALING JAYA: Losing in every World Tour tournament since 2017 must have been frustrating for men doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Sooh Wooi Yik. But no matter how much they were ridiculed, they never gave up. And it was their dogged determination over the last six years that saw the former world champions beating Indonesians Bagas Maulana-Shohibul Fikri 21-13,...
PETALING JAYA: Rexy Mainaky’s recent promotion as the national coaching director may have come at the right time as Malaysia enjoyed one of their best weeks in badminton. Just a month into his new role and the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) players have smashed their way to three titles through doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi...
