KUALA LUMPUR, Mac 4 – Malaysian youngsters Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong continued their impressive form in the Yonex Swiss Open in Basel to reach the quarter-finals with a come-from-behind 10-21, 21-15, 21-15 win over England’s fourth seeds Marcus Ellis-Chris Langridge in a second-round match on Thursday.

The Malaysians are making their international debut and the fine run in the Super 300 event which carries prize money of USD140,000 stayed cool in their 72-minute match against the hard-hitting and experienced English opponents to earn a quarter-final clash against another seeded pair – Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.

The sixth-seeded Danes defeated Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov of France 21-14, 21-15. With their confidence boosted by reaching the last eight in their first international tournament, you can expect the young Malaysian pair to come out fighting.

Meanwhile, top seeds Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (pic below) made the last eight without lifting their racquet when Denmark’s Jeppe Bay-Lasse Molhede conceded a walkover in their second-round match.

Also through to the quarter-finals are professionals Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi who defeated Denmark’s Joel Eipe-Rasmus Kjaer 21-18, 21-13. The fifth seeds will face India’s second seeds, Satwiksairaj-Chirag Shetty who won 21-17, 20-22, 21-7 against Indonesians Pramuda Kusumawardana-Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob.

In the women’s doubles, Malaysia’s second-seeded Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean made the quarter-finals with straight games 21-18, 21-17 win over Germany’s Linda Eflek-Isabel Herttrich. In the quarter-finals, they face Canadian seventh seeds, Rachel Honderich-Kristen Tsai.

Three Malaysian pairs won their second-round matches to make the last eight. Top seeds Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying led the charge with a 21-12, 21-16 win against Ronan Labar-Anne Tran of France and will face Denmark’s Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje next.

Fourth seeds Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie needed only 28 minutes to book their place in the quarter-finals – knocking out Rasmus Espersen-Christine Busch of Denmark in straight games 21-10, 21-15. The Malaysian discards will take on French sixth seeds Thom Gicquel-Delphine next.

Fifth seeds Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing are also through after a 21-14, 21-17 win in 39 minutes over Germans Jones Ralfy Jansen-Kilasu Ostermeyer. India’s Satwiksairaj-Ashwini Ponnappa are next opponents for the Malaysian pair.

JOHOR BAHRU, Mac 4 – Defending champions Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) – overflowing with so much football talent – is the hot favorite to kickstart their new season with a win over Kedah in Friday’s (March 5) Charity Shield match which will also count towards league points in regulation time.

And it does not matter who is in coach Benjamin Mora’s starting lineup or on the bench for the match.

The curtain raiser will be played at the majestic Sultan Ibrahim Stadium – one of the best in this region – and the envy of football teams.

The Mexican coach – who has won seven consecutive Super League titles for the Southern Tigers since 2014 – has one wish. He does not want a penalty shootout to decide the Charity Shield winner.

Penalty shootouts are a heartbreak for him. It is a lottery that can go either way on the day if Lady Luck decides to smile on you.

The year 2017 stands out like a sore thumb for Mora and the company.

That was the year when Kedah won the lottery with a 5-4 win in the shootout after a 1-1 draw. It hit Mora hard. That is why he wants tomorrow’s (Friday) match to be decided in regulation time for a roaring start to the season.

While many can guess Mora’s star-studded lineup but he is not revealing if former Kedah player Fernando Rodriguez will feature in his match plans. The Brazilian plays for JDT’s feeder squad JDT II in the Premier League.

”The pandemic affected our training and also other teams…but we have done enough in aggressive training. Despite the shortcomings team understanding is there,” said Mora, adding that the JDT badge on the jersey carries heavy responsibilities for the Southern Tigers.

On the other hand, his counterpart Aidil Shahrin Sahak knows of the odds against his Hijau Kuning outfit. His match plans suffered further blows with injuries to his key defenders Renan Alves and Ariff Farhan.

“Putting the injuries aside my team is focused. I must admit that our pre-season preparations were not what we had expected. Still, the players are ready to go. Their confidence is high and to get a positive result is not impossible,” said Aidil, a former Singapore international.

For the record JDT’s former goalkeeper coach Khairul Azman is now with Kedah. The former international brings a wealth of experience with him in the last line of defense and he knows the strong and weak points of JDT.

KUALA LUMPUR, Mac 4 – National No 1 Lee Zii Jia gave his confidence a big boost when he advanced to the second round in the men’s singles in the Yonex Swiss Open with straight games 21-12, 21-14 win over Russia’s Sergey Sirant in Basel on Wednesday.

For a place in the quarter-finals, the 23-year-old Malaysian will need to up his game against Denmark’s Victor Svendsen who upset former Asian Junior champion Lakshya Sen of India 21-16, 21-12.

Malaysia’s two others in the men’s singles – professionals Liew Daren and Soon Joo Ven – fell at the first hurdle. Daren went out to Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoes 12-21, 16-21 while Joo Ven was beaten by Indonesian No 7 seed Shesar Hiren Rhustavito 21-15, 21-10.

There was also a delight for national shuttlers in the men’s doubles. The nation’s top pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik advanced with a 21-13, 21-15 win over Australians Oliver Leydon Davis-Abhinav Manota. They next meet Danish pair Jeppe Bay-Lasse Molhede.

It was a sweet debut for Malaysian debutants Low Han Yee-Ng Eng Cheong. Playing in their first international tournament the young Malaysians did well to oust Dutch pair Ruben Jille-Ties Van Der Lecq in a 49-minute thriller – winning 21-16, 16-21, 21-16.

They have a tough hurdle next when they face fourth-seeded Marcus Ellis-Chris Langridge of England in the second round.

Two professional pairs Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong needed only 33 minutes to make the second round as they packed off Denmark’s Daniel Lundgaard-Mathias Thyrri 21-17, 21-11 and will face Germans Marks Lamsfuss-Marvin Seidel for a place in the quarter-finals.

Also in the hunt is another independent pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Eei Yi who came through a three-game battle for a 21-23, 21-12, 21-12 against American siblings Philip Chew-Ryan Chew. In the second round, the Malaysians are up against Danes Joel Eipe-Rasmus Kjaer.

Malaysia’s top women’s doubles Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean defeated England’s Jessica Hopton-Jenny Moore 21-18, 21-13 for a winning start in Basel. Youngsters Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah joined their seniors with an impressive 21-7, 21-6 demolishment of Serena Au Yeong-Katarina Hockmer of Austria in quick 21 minutes.

Recent national discard Soniia Cheah failed to get past the first round in the women singles. Germany’s Yvonne Li staged a strong comeback after dropping the first game for a 15-21, 21-13, 21-16 win over the Malaysian in 56 minutes.

Independent men’s singles player Liew Daren and Soong Joo Ven were also first-round casualties. Daren was shown the exit by Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen who won 21-12, 21-16 while Joo Ven was beaten 21-15, 21-10 by Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito.

KUALA LUMPUR, Mac 3 – Top seeds, Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying made it tough upon themselves before prevailing in a three-game battle against Thailand’s Nipitphon Phuangphuapet-Benyapa Aimsaard for a 21-15, 15-21, 21-19 win in the opening round of the Yonex Swiss Open Badminton Championship in Basel, Switzerland on Tuesday.

The Rio Olympics silver medal winners, however, used their vast experience to down the Thai scratch pair in 53 minutes and will next face the fast-improving French pair Ronan Labar-Anne Tran who knocked out Malaysian youngsters Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See  21-19, 21-17 in a 39-minute match.

Fourth seeds Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie also got off to a winning start. The pair, dumped from the national squad last month, needed only 33 minutes for a 21-18, 21-14 win over French pair Eloi Adam-Margot Lambert. For a place in the quarter-finals Soon Huat-Shevon will play Danes, Christine Busch-Rasmus Espersen.

Another seeded Malaysian pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, who are now carving out a career as professionals after being dropped from the national squad, also advanced. The fifth seeds downed Indonesians Adnan Maulana-Mychelle Crhstine Bandaso in straight games 21-13, 21-12 in 28 minutes.

They next play Germany’s Jones Ralfy Jansen-Kilasu Ostermeyer – 21-12, 21-11 winners over Switzerland’s Yann Orteu-Aline Muller in the first round.

Young Malaysian pair failed to get past the first round as they fell in straight games 12-21, 17-21 to French sixth seeds Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue in a 32-minute encounter.

India’s hopes Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnappa pulled off an upset with a 21-18, 21-10 win over Indonesian second seeds Hafiz Faizal-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.

KUALA LUMPUR, Mac 2 – Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia (PSM) president, Datuk Seri Ahmad Ismail was dead serious in wanting a change in the Asian Sepak Takraw Federation (ASTAF) leadership headed by Singapore’s Datuk Abdul Halim Kader.

Instead, the incumbent who has been at the helm for a decade not only ”whitewashed” his challengers, Ahmad Ismail and Singapore’s Mohd Nasri Haron in a three-corner fight,  Abdul Halim secured 30 votes for the 2021-2025 term. Ahmad Ismail and Mohd Nasri got no votes.

For the record, Ahmad Ismail was the ASTAF deputy president last term. It is a bitter lesson for Ahmad Ismail who tried to play ”politics” in sports and paid a heavy price for that.

The embarrassing defeat did not stop at that for Malaysian sepak takraw. There was more beating to come.

Abdullah Salleh, who is the PSM secretary-general and an incumbent council member of ASTAF is vying for the deputy president’s post.

He also suffered a humiliating defeat with Thailand’s Charlem Chaiwatcharaporn and India’s Yogender Singh Dahiya voted in with 30 and 29 votes respectively. The other candidate was Indonesia’s Asnawi Abdul Rahman.

Another Malaysian candidate Yusoff Ali was also defeated in his bid for a seat in the ASTAF council for the 2021-2025 term.

The vice-presidents elected were Meas Sarin (Cambodia), Soe Naing (Myanmar), Sohrab Azad Khankandi (Iran), Masaru Misawa (Japan), Oh Joo-Young (South Korea), Syafrizal Bahtiar (Indonesia), Tsai Hung-Peng (Taiwan), and Nousad Ahmed Khan (Pakistan) with 30 votes each.

Thailand’s Boonchai Loorphipat was appointed ASTAF secretary-general with Muhammad Fariq (Singapore) as his assistant. Another Singaporean Nazarisham Isa is the treasurer.

KUALA LUMPUR, Mac 1 – After more than a year of uncertainty, the Golden Ox seems to be smiling on national football coach, Tan Cheng Hoe this year as Malaysia’s preparations for the World Cup 2022/Asia Cup 2023 qualifiers in Group G stay on track.

Hours after it was confirmed by the FA of Malaysia (FAM) that Brazilian-born striker Guilherme De Paula is the third naturalized Malaysian after Gambia-born Mohamadou Sumareh and Liridon Krasniqi (Kosovo),Cheng Hoe made known his intentions to call him up for the next phase of national training.

”This is good news…to have De Paula in the squad is something positive for the team. He is sharp and a good finisher. He will be an asset,” said Cheng Hoe.

The 34-year-old currently plays for Perak in the M-League and has some impressive statistics to proof of football skills in his stint in Malaysia.

He played for Selangor in 2015, Police (2016) and Kuala Lumpur 2017-2019 before moving to Perak.

Cheng Hoe also revealed that he intends to call up between 28 to 30 players for the first phase of centralized training which is expected to start on March 20.

He is taking a precaution just in case there are injuries when the M-League kicks off on March 5.

A good example was the injury picked up by Shahrel Fikri when playing for his new team Selangor FC against Kuala Lumpur United FC in the inaugural Caring Cup (Piala Prihatin) on Saturday. Shahrel lasted only seven minutes before limping off.

”I have been told the injury is not serious,” said Cheng Hoe.

He added that 18-year-old Luqman Hakim Shamsudin who is currently playing in the Belgium League (KV Kortrijk) and 29-year-old Krasniqi who plays for Australian club, Newcastle Jets (on loan from Johor Darul Takzim) are still in his list.

The Harimau Malaya is preparing for the remaining three matches in Group G – against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Vietnam and Thailand.

The remaining matches will be played on a carnival basis in June as decided by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Malaysia is currently in second place behind leaders Vietnam with nine points after five matches.

Vietnam leads the group with 11 points with Thailand third on eight followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on six with a game in hand.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 – Is something brewing in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) of late when coach Datuk Tey Seu Bok was left out of the traveling party for the Yonex Swiss Open which begins in Basel on Tuesday?

Seu Bok is the odd man out from the trip and it is surprising that the rest of the team- players and coaches – had no problems after getting clearance from the National Security Council (MKN).

It is reliably learned that Seu Bok was ready for the trip and was apparently only informed at the eleventh hour that he is not traveling.

None of the head coaches traveled for the European-leg of tournaments as they are all Indonesians and had problems getting visas due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If what we have heard from certain quarters in the BAM there is a “lot of politics” in the national badminton body and this has affected the game.

Some with clout are calling the shots and cannot ”see eye to eye” with some in the coaching setup.

Head coaches Hendrawan, Indra Wijaya, Flandy Limpele, and Paulus Firman are all from Indonesia and were left out of the Europe trip due to government restrictions.

The assistant coaches who left with the players on Saturday midnight were Loh Wei Sheng (women’s singles), Hoon Thien How (men’s doubles), and Teo Kok Siang (mixed doubles).

BAM’s director of coaching Wong Choong Hann, who also left with the team will also take charge of Lee Zii Jia in the men’s singles.

For the record, Choong Hann had to cancel his trip to the recent Asian-leg in Bangkok on the eve of the trip when he was tested positive for Covid-19.

Zii Jia was a big flop in Bangkok when he failed to be on the podium in the Yonex Thailand Open, the Toyota Thailand Open, and the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 – A 2-1 win over Kedah in a friendly match on Saturday has given Premier League’s Sarawak United FC a glimmer of hope for the new season and things are falling into place for head coach E. Elavarasan.

Elavarasan, however, is not crowing about the win but believes that it is a ”big boost for the confidence” of the players before the team’s opening match against Kelantan United FC on March 6.

“‘Kedah is a very strong side with experience and to beat the highly-rated Super League side is motivating for my players. It means if they can believe in themselves they can win matches,” said Elavarasan who is into his second season with Sarawak United.

At the same time, Elavarasan is aware that Kedah was a tired side after playing several friendly matches before facing Sarawak.

For the record, Kedah is preparing for their Charity Shield match against Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) on March 5. The result of the match at full time will also count towards the league points.

Sarawak’s goals were scored by Gopi Rizqi and Tommy Mawat. Elavarasan also tried out his new signing, goalkeeper Sarbinee Allawee. The 34-year-old former international played in the second half, taking over from Shaiful Wazizi.

“Both keepers gave a good account of themselves in the match,” said Elavarasan who also threw in Nigerian striker Uche Agba in the last 15 minutes of the game. Agba completed his quarantine on Friday.

”I am pleased with the team’s overall performance but we can improve further. The players were excited to play a big name like Kedah and this alone was an added motivation for them to perform.”

The match was played at the Sime Darby Stadium in Bukit Jelutong.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 – Big spenders Selangor FC were handed a harsh reality that it will not be easy in the Super League this season as Kuala Lumpur United FC grabbed the inaugural Piala Prihatin (Caring Cup) 4-2 on penalties at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras on Saturday.

The Klang Valley derby was much awaited by football fans in the country before the new season kicks off on March 5 with Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) taking Kedah for the Charity Shield at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru.

The match ended scoreless in regulation time and the outcome in the lottery, favored the City Boys. For KL chief coach Bojan Hodak it did not matter how his team won the silverware.

”A win is still a win. It does not matter how it was achieved. This is a morale booster for the team. There are shortcomings in the team but we will work on ironing that out,” said Hodak.

The 49-year-old Croatian is back in Malaysia to light up the M-League and has a one plus one contract with the team.

He comes with strong credentials having coached the National Under-19 team that won the ASEAN Football Federation Under-18 championships in 2018.

He also won a treble with Kelantan (the League Cup, the FA Cup, and Malaysia Cup) in 2012.

Coming back to the match against the much-hyped Selangor outfit under German coach Karsten Neitzel who brought in his own back-up staff in coaching and also handpicked German players Tim Heubach (defender) Manuel Konrad (midfielder).

Konrad took Selangor’s first kick in the shootout and blew it. He will remember his first competitive match in Malaysia when he had his spot-kick saved by KL goalkeeper, Kevin Mendoza.

KL grew in confidence after this and scored four of their penalties through skipper Paulo Josue, Dominique da Sylva, Hadin Azman and the evergreen Indra Putra Mahayuddin.

Selangor scored through Singapore international Safuwan Baharuddin and Ifedayo Olusegun. The other foreign player to muff his spot-kick was Swiss player, Oliver Buff who sent his attempt over the bar.

Indra Putra would have sealed the match for KL in the last minute of play but he failed to connect a pinpoint cross from the left inside the six-yard box.

Selangor too had their chances in the first half but Ifedayo and Dominique muffed their opportunities.

Selangor’s new signing Shahrel Fikri lasted only seven minutes before limping off with an injury. The injury-prone international played for Perak last season.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 – It was a double dose of good news for Premier League’s Sarawak United FC before kickstarting their new season with a tough match against Kelantan United FC on March 6.

With the prevailing weather conditions, the afternoon match at 4 pm is scheduled to be played under hot and humid conditions at the Selayang Municipal Stadium.

However, the Sarawak United FC management is in negotiations to have the match played in cooler conditions at 9pm at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka.

Sarawak United head coach E. Elavarasan has also tightened up his last line of defense by signing up former international goalkeeper Sharbinee Allawee (pic left).

The Kuala Terengganu-born football nomad played for Pahang last season.

The 34-year-old Sharbinee brings with him a wealth of experience. Apart from playing for the National Under-23 (2006-2009) and the National team (2010-2012), Sharbinee also had two stints with his home state (2006-2012 and 2014-2017).

He played for Selangor (2013-2014) and Kuala Lumpur (2018-2019) before moving to Pahang last season.

“Sharbinee has agreed to play for us. He will give the team more stability in the last line of defense,” said Elavarasan who also coached the team last season when the M-League was decided over one round instead of two rounds.

“Playing the match against Kelantan at night will be cooler. The present hot and humid conditions are not conducive for a good football match. Hopefully, we will be able to get the match played at night.”

Brazilian striker Sandro Mendonca will arrive on Saturday while Uche Agba the Nigerian hitman is already in town and serving out his seven-day quarantine. The duo is not likely to play against Kelantan United.

On Saturday, Sarawak United will play Kedah Darul Aman FC (KDA FC) in a friendly match at the Sime Darby Stadium in Bukit Jelutong.

Kedah will face seven-time Super League champions Johor Darul Takim (JDT) for the Charity Shield on March 5 in the curtain-raiser.

The season’s opener will be played at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru.