Lausanne, Switzerland, 7 Sept – The International Testing Agency (ITA) welcomes the International Hockey Federation (FIH) as its newest partner in the fight for clean sport.
The ITA will manage the entire anti-doping program of the Olympic team sport, the FIH will retain results management.
The FIH has decided to have its entire anti-doping programme run independently by the ITA.
A four-year contract between the two organisations marks the start of cooperation. In a transitional phase until the end of 2020, the ITA will initially manage FIH’s out-of-competition testing activities, and from the beginning of 2021 the full anti-doping program.
This includes in- and out-of-competition testing, athlete blood passport administration, therapeutic use exemption management, risk assessment, test distribution planning, whereabouts and compliance management. The FIH will maintain the results management within its structures.
Based on the shared conviction of the two organisations that knowledge and prevention are crucial factors in deterring athletes from using prohibited substances – deliberately or inadvertently – an emphasis will be put by the ITA on rolling out a strong education program for the FIH.
“The ITA is excited to welcome another team sport to the ranks of its partners”, says Benjamin Cohen, Director-General of the ITA.
“Hockey is a true global sport with both strong female and male teams, and a sport with a long Olympic tradition. The delegation of its global anti-doping program shows the federation’s commitment to fair play and means that the FIH will profit from the ITA’s knowledge and expertise. We will tailor our anti-doping program to the specificities of hockey, but the FIH will also be able to access solutions and intelligence from the other sports the ITA partners with.”
FIH CEO, Thierry Weil said: “We are very pleased to announce this partnership with the ITA, which is part of our continuing efforts to maintain a world class anti-doping programme for hockey around the world. Using this independent agency of anti-doping experts will ensure we continue to be at the forefront of efforts to educate our athletes and maintain the integrity of our competitions.”
KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Sept – The Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm that the TOTAL BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2020 in Aarhus, Denmark will proceed as planned despite Thailand’s withdrawal in the men’s and women’s team.
BWF in their statement today said that Badminton Association of Thailand cited special circumstances related to COVID-19 in addition to injuries with their key players in making the decision.
Thailand join Chinese Taipei and Australia as those Member Associations unable to take
their place. Replacement teams have yet to be announced.
The TOTAL BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2020 is scheduled for 3-11 October.
BWF’s highest priority remains the health and safety of all players and personnel
participating in upcoming international tournaments.
This includes implementing a bubble system to create a safe badminton ecosystem for
all involved.
PETALING JAYA, 6 Sept – As expected, family commitments and the Covid-19 fear lurking, Malaysian Olympians, Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong have pulled out of the national squad to the Thomas Cup Finals scheduled to be held in Aarhus, Denmark from Oct 3-11.
In a statement released by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) on Sunday at the end of a four-day motivational camp in Pulau Tioman, Pahang, said the duo have decided not to don national colours in the Thomas Cup Finals.
Without a doubt, the duo has put family commitments as the top priority in making the decision. The writing was on the wall when V Shem-Wee Kiong skipped the motivational camp in Pulau Tioman.
V Shem became a first-time father on Aug 30 while Wee Kiong’s wife is due to give birth to the couple’s second baby on Oct 17.
With the experienced V Shem-Wee Kiong, winners of the Rio Olympics silver medal in 2016 and once ranked No 1 in the world, Malaysia will count on current national No 1 pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Teo Eei Yi-Ong Yew Sin, and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani to carry Malaysia’s doubles hopes.
Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s singles will be led by SEA Games champion Lee Zii Jia who is ranked No 10 in the world. The others named for the singles are veteran professional Liew Daren, Cheam June Wei, and Leong Jun Hao.
There were no surprises in the women’s squad for the Uber Cup Finals to be held at the same time as the Thomas Cup Finals.
The Uber Cup squad will be led by the country’s No 1 women shuttle Soniia Cheah. Also in the singles team is SEA Games gold medallist S. Kisona, former World Junior champion Goh Jin Wei and Eoon Qi Xuan.
The doubles pairs are Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean, Vivian Hoo-Yap Cheng Wen, and fast-improving Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah.
In the Thomas Cup Finals, Malaysia is drawn in Group A and has Indonesia, Netherlands, and England for company. Malaysian women will battle South Korea, Indonesia, and Australia in Group B.
The top two teams in their respective groups in both Finals will advance to the knockout stage and play in the quarter-finals.
Malaysia flopped in the last edition of the Finals in Bangkok in 2018 and failed to achieve its semi-finals target in the Thomas Cup after crashing to a 3-1 defeat to perennial rivals Indonesia in the quarters.
The Malaysian women failed to get past the group stages in the Uber Cup. Malaysia has never won the Uber Cup since it was incepted in 1957.
For the record, Malaysia has won the Thomas Cup five times and this was achieved in 1949, 1952, 1955, 1967, and 1992.
PETALING JAYA, 5 Sept – He played 80 minutes before being replaced but Nigerian hitman Ifedayo Olusegun had done enough damage by then as Selangor snatched a come from behind 2-1 win over Sabah in Friday’s Super League match at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu.
His brace at Likas took his tally to five goals – two behind leading scorer Dominque Da Sylva of Terengganu. The Mauritania striker failed to find the net in the 1-0 defeat against Melaka at the Hang Jebat Stadium on Friday.
Selangor head coach B. Sathianathan is more pleased with the three vital points earned in Likas and the manner in which his charges fought for the hard-fought win after a scoreless draw against Petaling Jaya City FC – thanks to their opponents “park the bus” tactics which denied the Red Giants despite dominating the match.
Against Sabah, the Red Giants fell behind to Serbian Rodoljub Paunovic’s goal (65th) there was no stopping Selangor when Olusegun got into the scoring act. He got his first on 72 minutes and the second eight minutes later before Satianathan took him out.
“I must give credit to the beautiful pitch. My players enjoyed the game on the well-maintained pitch. That played a part in my ‘out-dated’ tactics,” said the former national coach in an obvious dig at the management.
The Selangor management has given broad hints that Sathianathan’s contract will be reviewed at the end of the season even if the Red Giants win silverware. That message came from Selangor FA secretary Dr. Johan Kamal Hamidon.
While Olusegun is scoring it just the opposite for Spaniard Rufino Segovia. He has yet to score since the league resumed on Aug 28 but he scored five in Selangor’s friendly matches before the league got underway.
The injury-prone Segovia missed last season because of injuries and is probably cautious in a match proper for fear of getting injured again due to the high-intensity matches seen in the league so far.
Selangor next faces Melaka at home at the UiTM Stadium in Shah Alam before traveling south to face mighty Johor Darul Takzim (JDT). The Southern Tigers mauled Perak 7-0 in a high scoring match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri.
The Red Giants returned home today and Satianathan is keeping his fingers crossed that there are no major injuries when training resumes.
KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Sept – Sukan permotoran memang tinggi risikonya.
Terjatuh, berlanggar, jentera rosak di pertengahan perlumbaan dan sebagainya, memang sudah menjadi sebahagian daripada ‘budaya’ atau perkara biasa dalam sukan permotoran khususnya yang beroda dua.
Bagi para pelumba, ia harus dihadapi malah mereka sudah bersedia menempuhinya sebelum membuat keputusan untuk menjadikan sukan tersebut sebagai karier.
Begitupun, sebelum bergelar pelumba, mereka akan didedahkan dengan latihan tentang cara-cara menghadapinya jika berlaku perlanggaran atau terjatuh ketika mengharungi perlumbaan.
Bila membicarakan mengenai insiden-insiden perlanggaran yang berlaku dalam sukan permotoran, ada satu cerita menarik yang wajar dikongsi agar ia boleh dijadikan motivasi buat generasi muda yang berhasrat mahu menjadi pelumba suatu hari nanti.
Ia dialami oleh seorang pelumba wanita yang berjiwa kental, berdikari dan tidak mudah luntur semangat.
Insiden berlaku pada Rabu lalu ketika berlangsungnya saingan Pusingan 3 Kejuaraan Cub Prix Malaysia di Litar Sepang Utara.
‘Malang tidak berbau’ – ini yang dialami oleh pelumba baharu dalam kategori Pro Am, Nur Atikah Azwar.
Pelumba yang popular dengan channel You Tube – Rider Helmet Pink itu terlibat dalam perlanggaran ketika mengharungi ‘warm up’ lap untuk kategori Pro Am.
Dia tampil dengan tahap kelajuan yang maksimum sehingga tidak menyedari pelumba di hadapannya mengalami masalah mekanikal dengan jenteranya.
Selepas mengalami kerosakan, pelumba tersebut kembali memasuki garisan perlumbaan, namun jenteranya sekali lagi bermasalah.
Nur Atikah atau nama panggilannya Ika yang berada di belakang, tidak menyangka pelumba tersebut masih berdepan masalah dengan jenteranya.
Disebabkan kelajuan Ika ketika itu berada pada tahap maksimum, dia tidak sempat untuk mengelak dan terlanggar pelumba terbabit, Jarak antara mereka juga agak dekat dan ia menyukarkan Ika untuk ‘membrek’ secara mengejut.
Maka berlaku perlanggaran dan Ika terjatuh. Malang terus menimpa Ika kerana dua pelumba di belakangnya ketika itu, juga tidak sempat mengelak sehingga melanggar bahagian kepala dan tangan Rider Helmet Pink itu.
Seperti biasa, para pegawai perlumbaan bertindak cepat untuk memberi bantuan, namun Ika merasakan tangan kirinya tidak berfungsi seperti biasa.
Syukur, dia tidak mengalami kecederaan teruk, tetapi selepas menerima rawatan, tulang pada tangan kirinya retak.
Dia dirujuk ke Hospital Putrajaya sebelum dipindahkan ke Hospital Pakar Damansara.
Ketika berlakunya insiden tersebut, Ika tidak menunjukkan sebarang reaksi kecewa, dia tetap tenang, apa lagi menjerit untuk menahan kesakitan.
Dia tetap bergurau senda ketika diberi rawatan awal oleh pegawai perubatan yang ditempatkan di litar tersebut.
Namun, ketika dalam perjalanan ke Hospital Putrajaya, suara tangisannya mulai kedengaran kencang. Dia menangis bukan kerana menahan kesakitan, tetapi kecewa tidak dapat berlumba.
Dia kecewa kerana insiden tersebut akan meranapkan impiannya untuk terus beraksi pada Kejuaraan Cub Prix tahun ini.
Dia masih bersemangat untuk terus beraksi sehingga ke penutup musim tetapi atas nasihat pakar agar dia berehat sekurang-kurangnya tiga bulan, jiwanya hancur.
Tangisan kekecewaannya terus kencang kerana memikirkan impiannya untuk terus mewarnai saingan Cub Prix musim ini sudah musnah.
Memang jiwanya kental dan episod sedih itu ternyata tidak dapat mengubah pendiriannya untuk terus aktif dalam sukan dua roda itu.
Meskipun masih terbaring atas katil di Hospital Pakar Damansara, topik bicaranya tetap terarah kepada keinginan untuk kembali ke litar lumba.
Ternyata semangatnya masih membara dan belum mahu menyerah meskipun tempoh rehatnya seperti yang dinasihatkan oleh pakar mengambil masa sekurang-kurangnya tiga bulan.
Berita tersebut bukan suatu yang mengembirakannya, tetapi menambah kekecewaan.
Ika adalah antara dua pelumba wanita yang mewarnai kategori Pro Am pada Kejuaraan Cub Prix musim ini. Seorang lagi adalah Nuraina Halisya Hamirudin.
Pada aksi di Sepang itu, Ika telah meletakkan sasaran untuk berada dalam kedudukan 10 terbaik selepas mendapati prestasi jentera Yamaha Legenda yang ditunggangnya semakin menunjukkan kestabilan.
Selepas menjalani pembedahan malam tadi bagi membetulkan tulang pada tangan kirinya itu, Ika kini berada dalam keadaan yang stabil dan dia bakal dibenarkan pulang pada Ahad ini.
Bagi pihak komuniti sukan dua roda, semua mendoakan agar Ika segera pulih.
Yang pasti dia berjiwa kental.
Dia menangis bukan kerana menahan kesakitan, tetapi kecewa gara-gara tidak dapat kembali ke gelanggang perlumbaan.
JOHOR BAHRU, 4 Sept – It was a nightmare for Perak rookie, goalkeeper Nasrullah Abdul Aziz as six-time champions Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) tightened their grip at the top of the table with a massive 7-0 whitewash in Super League match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri.
It was the biggest win in the Super League so far this season and with that JDT also kept their unbeaten record at their new stadium with world-class facilities.
The night belonged to JDT’s Argentine hitman Gonzalo Cabrera who plundered a grand hat-trick with goals in the 36th, 45th (penalty), and 63rd minute after Afiq Fazail (pic) opened the flood gates in the 22nd minutes.
Perak, who came without four key players – either out with injuries and suspension – started on equal footing matching the Southern Tigers and even showed early promise. However, all that crumbled after Afiq’s opener.
The homesters took a healthy 4-0 at the half-time break when Ramadhan Saifullah, playing only his second match with the senior side, scored again in injury time before the break. The JDT II player also scored a goal in JDT’s 3-2 win over Pahang in Kuantan last week.
International Safawi Rasid, who is set to join a club in Portugal next year, added his name into the scoresheet with a 79th-minute strike before Akhyar Rashid completed the rout in the 84th minute.
“It was simply a bad night for us,” said Perak coach Mehmet Durakovic, adding that “Nasrullah will have to learn from his mistakes” and come back stronger.
For the Bos Gauros, it was their second defeat on the trot after a 1-0 defeat to Melaka in Ipoh last week.
JDT remained on the top of the league with 16 points from six matches while Terengganu remained in the second spot despite a 1-0 defeat to Melaka at the Hang Jebat Stadium.
Nigerian Uche Agba scored the winner on the hour mark from a cross by Norde Sony to take Melaka to the third spot with nine points on goal difference. Selangor is also on nine points after a 2-1 win over Sabah at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu.
Perak, after the big defeat, is fifth in the league standings with eight points.
PETALING JAYA, 4 Sept – In one sweep Kelantan football has seen a new lease of life – especially on the financial front – thanks to Johor entrepreneur Norizam Tukiman.
Tukiman is a breath of fresh air for the Red Warriors when he bought RM3 million shares of Team The Red Warriors Sdn Bhd shares – a subsidiary of the Kelantan FA (KAFA) effective Thursday.
Apart from that Norizam has thrown in another RM3.8 million to settle KAFA’s existing debts – and this has lifted a huge financial burden that has engulfed the association.
Norizam has come with big plans for the fallen Red Warriors who now ply their football trade in the lower-tier Premier League. For the record, Kelantan was once a much-feared East Coast team that achieved a high in 2012 when the Red Warriors won a treble in 2012.
Thursday’s good news by Norizam could stand in good stead for the Kelantan team when they face Selangor II at home on Saturday. The match comes in the wake of Kelantan’s surprise 3-0 defeat by Penang also at home last week.
Norizam’s next step after the privatization of KAFA is to sort out Kelantan’s licensing issue for the team to compete in the M-League next season.
The team will now be fully managed by TRW Sdn Bhd and Norizam gave broad hints that he will bring his own team to manage Kelantan.
Norizam does not look at “instant profits” but is optimistic that Kelantan FC’s value will be anything between RM5 billion to RM10 billion within a decade. He also plans to get TRW Sdn Bhd listed on the Malaysian stock exchange to take the company forward.
Those who witnessed the ‘historic’ event on Thursday were KAFA president Datuk Shaari Mat Hussin and his deputy Datuk Seri Afandi Hamzah.
KUALA LUMPUR, 3 Sept – It will be a battle of the Brazilians when Penang entertain Negeri Sembilan at the City Stadium in Friday’s Premier League match after both sides resumed their league campaign on a winning note.
While Negeri carved out a 1-0 win over previously unbeaten and leaders Terengganu FC II at home in their opener, Penang hammered Kelantan in Kota Baru 3-0 in a surprise win with Brazilian hitman Endrick Dos Santos getting a hat-trick.
Negeri’s head coach Sazali Saidon is keeping his fingers crossed that his team will not cave in at the City Stadium but instead take the game into Penang and challenge the Panthers for full points.
”I believe it will be a battle of the Brazilians in this match,” said Sazali after arriving with the team in Penang by bus, referring to the two Brazilians with Negeri – Jose Almir Neto and Igor Luiz.
Apart from Dos Santos in the team Penang also another big name from the Samba nation – Anselmo Casagrande who is said to be more dangerous than the former.
“I am hoping that Neto and Luiz will be able to hold their own at the City Stadium after a rather subdued match against Terengganu. Playing after a long break due to the suspension of the league because of Covid-19 made the duo a bit rusty.”
Negeri’s Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakatake who had a hand in the goal against Terengganu is Sazali’s trump card in the team.
After five matches Penang is only a point behind leaders Terengganu with 11 points – the same as third-placed Kuala Lumpur with goal-difference separating the two.
Negeri is in the seventh spot on six points.
On Wednesday, the Negeri team was given a pep-talk by the president of the Negeri Sembilan FA, Tunku Syed Razman Tunku Syed Idrus Al-Qadri who is also the Tunku Besar of Tampin.
PETALING JAYA, 3 Sept – While the Covid-19 continues to leave a big question mark on major sporting events around the world the Malaysian Thomas and Uber Cup squads are currently in Pulau Tioman for a four-day motivational camp.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will name the teams for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals scheduled to be played in Aarhus, Denmark from Oct 3-11.
Whether the Finals will go ahead is another big question after Taiwan announced that it is pulling out from Finals.
There was more to come when India’s top women’s singles shuttler P.V. Sindhu announced that she has withdrawn from the team for personal reasons.
India’s men’s doubles ace Satwiksairaj Rankireddy has been tested positive for COVID-19.
Badminton powerhouse China is another nation that could skip the Thomas & Uber Cup Finals due to the pandemic.
In the Thomas Cup Finals, Malaysia is drawn in Group A and has Indonesia, Netherlands, and England for company. Malaysian women will battle South Korea, Indonesia, and Australia in Group B.
The top two teams in their respective groups in both Finals will advance to the knockout stage and play in the quarter-finals
Malaysia flopped in the last edition of the Finals in Bangkok in 2018 and failed to achieve its semi-finals target in the Thomas Cup after crashing to a 3-1 defeat to perennial rivals Indonesia in the quarters.
The Malaysian women failed to get past the group stages in the Uber Cup. Malaysia has never won the Uber Cup since it was incepted in 1957.
For the record, Malaysia has won the Thomas Cup five times and this was achieved in 1949, 1952, 1955, 1967 and 1992.
KUALA LUMPUR, 2 Sept – The young and the old took to the tennis courts in Sandakan not only to forge unity but also to show the true spirit of “Merdeka” as Malaysia celebrated its 63rd National day on Aug 31 day.
It was simply a case of showing “patriotism and loyalty” especially to the young said Sabah Tennis Association (STA) president Johnson Koh who is also the patron of the Sandakan District Tennis Association (SDTA).
He described them as “tennis crazy” and their show of patriotism came via friendly tennis matches which were played over two days to celebrate Merdeka according to the strict standard operating procedure (SOP) in view of the coronavirus (Covid-19).
Johnson, who led STA later partnered Rabahin Masdik in the last veteran doubles tie to clinch a thrilling 9-8 win over Herman Abdullah and Iruwan M of SDTA. STA walked away 6-5 winners against SDTA who called themselves ”Warriors”.
The rest of the matches were also closed fought affairs.
It was also a test for the Sabah’s juniors who will carry the East Malaysians challenge in the Johor Sukma which is now rescheduled to be held in March next year. Sukma Johor 2020 was earlier scheduled to be in July this year but was postponed because of the pandemic.
”Patriotism and loyalty to Malaysia and Sabah are of utmost importance and this was displayed on the tennis courts,” said Johnson who added that it will be an annual affair to promote unity in the country.
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