Bonnie, Aaron-Wooi Yik lead cast for SAM-100PLUS Awards
Men's badminton doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, tower runner Soh Wai Ching, tenpin bowler Sin Li Jane, wushu exponent Tan Cheong Min and lawn bowler Farah Ain Abdullah have been nominated for the Athlete of the Year award.
Aaron-Wooi Yik had claimed bronze at the Paris Games, Li Jane was named PWBA Tour Player of the Year after claiming four titles last year while Farah won the singles gold at the World Indoor Bowls Championships (Channel Islands) and also claimed gold (fours category) at the Pattaya Asian Championships.
Cheong Min took gold at the Macau Asian Championships while Wai Ching claimed the world title in Taiwan last year.
Shuttler Cheah Liek Hou, powerlifter Bonnie Bunyau Gustin and track and field trio Ziyad Zolkefli (shot put F20), Latif Romly (long jump T20) and Eddy Bernard (100m T44) have been shortlisted for the Para Athlete of the Year Award.
Bonnie broke the world record en route to defending his gold at the Paris games where Liek Hou also retained his men's singles SU5 gold. Ziyad and Latif both clinched silver in Paris while Eddy claimed bronze.
The winner in both categories will receive RM10,000 and a trophy during the awards ceremony in Sunway on July 14.
SAM president Norismadi Abd Manap also announced an increase in prize money, from RM7,000 previously to now RM10,000, for the Siebel Award, the highest recognition for sports writing in Malaysia.
The prize money for the Popular Sports Commentator award has also been increased to RM3,000 from RM2,000 previously.
"We feel that it is important to give sports journalists, who work hard throughout the year to provide quality sports coverage, the recognition they deserve," said Norismadi during a press conference in Bukit Jalil today (July 1).
"We have seen a slight increase in the number of submissions as well as an increase in the quality of pieces produced this year.
"This is likely due to the Paris Olympics and Paralympics as well as a number of major issues in sports occurring last year."
Norismadi expressed his gratitude to 100PLUS who have sponsored the SAM Awards since 2003. 100PLUS is Malaysia's top isotonic drink brand.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Malaysian badminton pairs eye finals at World Championships in Paris
One Malaysian men's doubles pair is strongly tipped to reach the final of the Badminton World Championships in Paris later this month. The draw released today shows potential for an all-Malaysian semi-final clash between Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani. Second seeds Aaron-Wooi Yik received a first-round bye and are expected to advance smoothly to the third round. They could face either compatriots Wan Muhammad Arif Shaharuddin-Yap Roy King or Thailand's Kittinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh in the quarter-finals. A tougher challenge awaits in the quarter-finals, with India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty or China's Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang as likely opponents. Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, also starting with a bye, are projected to reach the quarter-finals with minimal resistance. Their path could then pit them against Indonesia's Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza Isfahani or China's Liu Yi-Chen Bo Yang. In the women's doubles, Pearly Tan-M Thinaah have a favourable draw and are strong contenders for the semi-finals. The second seeds may face Indonesia's Lanny Tria Mayasari-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti in the quarter-finals. Malaysia's mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei will face a tough second-round test against Indonesia's Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu. In men's singles, Leong Jun Hao opens against Switzerland's Tobias Kuenzi, while Lee Zii Jia meets South Korea's Jeon Hyeok Jin. Goh Jin Wei will take on China's Gao Fang Jie in the women's singles, while K Letshanaa faces Hong Kong's Saloni S Mehta. - Bernama
Barnama
2 hours ago
- Barnama
Bright Chances Of One M'sian Men's Doubles Pair In World Championship Final
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- One Malaysian pair in the men's doubles event is expected to feature in the final of the Badminton World Championships in Paris from Aug 25 to 31. This comes as the country's top men's doubles pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, could meet compatriots Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani in the semi-finals if both pairs clear their respective hurdles. According to the draw released today, second seeds Aaron-Wooi Yik received a bye in the first round and are expected to have little difficulty advancing to the third round, where they are likely to meet compatriots Wan Muhammad Arif Shaharuddin Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King or Thailand's Kittinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh for a place in the quarter-finals. bootstrap slideshow If the two-time Olympic bronze medallists make it to the quarter-finals, they could face either India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy–Chirag Shetty or the world number six pair from China, Liang Wei Keng–Wang Chang. As for Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, who also received a bye, they are likewise expected to cruise into the quarter-finals, where they will likely face a stern test against either the world number eight pair from Indonesia, Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza Isfahani, or the world number 11 duo from China, Liu Yi-Chen Bo Yang, for a place in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, in the women's doubles event, Thailand Open 2025 champions Pearly Tan-M Thinaah received a favourable draw and are not expected to face major obstacles in reaching the semi-finals. The second seeds, who also received a first-round bye, are likely to face the world number 14 pair from Indonesia, Lanny Tria Mayasari-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, in the quarter-finals, with the head-to-head record favouring the Malaysian duo. In the mixed doubles, the country's top pair, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, who also received a first-round bye, will face a tough challenge in the second round against the world number 11 pair from Indonesia, Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu. In the men's singles, the country's top shuttler Leong Jun Hao will open his campaign against Switzerland's Tobias Kuenzi in the first round, while compatriot Lee Zii Jia will take on South Korea's Jeon Hyeok Jin.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Familiar foes could be Aaron-Wooi Yik's spoilers at World C'ships
Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia celebrate after winning their quarter-final match. Credit - Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik may need to overcome familiar rivals to keep their gold medal hopes alive in the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris. Aaron-Wooi Yik, who are eyeing their second world title after their triumph in 2022 in Tokyo, will likely face either China's Paris Olympics silver medallists Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang or India's Asian Games champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in the quarter-finals. Weikeng-Wang Chang ended the world No. 2 pair's hopes of winning gold in the Olympics when they beat them in the semi-finals in August last year at the same venue as the world meet this time - the Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle. Aaron-Wooi Yik were also denied by Satwiksairaj-Chirag in the last four of the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. The Malaysians will need to be at their best to come out on top this time. Before that, Aaron-Wooi Yik, who have received a bye in the first round, will open their campaign in the second round against either Scotland's Christopher Grimley-Mathew Grimley or Spain's Daniel Franco-Rodrigo Sanjurjo. A win could see Aaron-Wooi Yik play teammates and debutants Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi in the third round. Roy King-Arif though need to overcome tricky pairs Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura from Japan and Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Kittinupong Kedren in the first and second rounds respectively if they hope to meet Aaron-Wooi Yik. Meanwhile, world No. 3 independent pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, who received a bye in the first round, will play the winners of the match between Thailand's Peeratchai Sukphun-Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Americans Chen Zhi-yi-Presley Smith in the second round. Another Malaysian representative, world No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, will likely face Popov brothers Christo and Toma Junior from France in the second round. In the women's doubles, world No. 2 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah's first big test will likely come in the third round against Indonesia's Siti Fadia Ramadhanti-Lanny Tria. Another women's doubles duo Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee will likely meet Bulgarian sisters Stefani Stoeva-Gabriela Stoeva in the second round. In the mixed doubles, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin could clash in the third round while rising Indonesian pair Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu will likely stand in national No. 1 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei's way to the last eight.
