logo
No sanctions for Malaysia pulling out of World Junior Squash event

No sanctions for Malaysia pulling out of World Junior Squash event

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will not face any sanctions for withdrawing from the World Junior Squash Championships in Cairo on July 21-Aug 1.
The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) pulled its players from the tournament, citing safety concerns amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East — specifically the conflict involving Israel and Iran.
SRAM president Gerard Monteiro confirmed that the World Squash Federation (WSF) had accepted Malaysia's decision to withdraw and would not impose penalties.
"WSF has given us the assurance that there is no risk of sanctions for pulling out of the World Juniors," said Gerard, who also sits on the WSF Ethics Commission.
"Even China have done the same."
Malaysia's withdrawal followed advice from authorities against sending players to Egypt due to security concerns.
A total of 12 Malaysians — six boys and six girls — were initially slated to compete in the Under-19 championships.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Macau Open: Dripping water fails to wash away Wan Arif's maiden tour title
Macau Open: Dripping water fails to wash away Wan Arif's maiden tour title

The Sun

time8 hours ago

  • The Sun

Macau Open: Dripping water fails to wash away Wan Arif's maiden tour title

KUALA LUMPUR: 'I even had to battle through water dripping from above.' That was how national men's doubles player Wan Arif Wan Junaidi summed up his gritty performance after finally clinching his first BWF World Tour title with partner Yap Roy King at the 2025 Macau Open yesterday. The fourth-seeded Malaysians stunned Indonesia's top seeds Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 22-20, 21-18 in the Super 300 final held at the Macao East Asian Games Dome. Despite being distracted by water dripping from the roof, the 23-year-old Wan Arif managed to overcome the unusual challenge to seal a memorable day for both himself and Roy King. 'During the final, water was dripping even when I served, during rallies and while smashing — it was falling on my head. But I told myself, if I'm affected, so too are my opponents. So I just tried to focus point by point,' he said in an audio message shared by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) today. The fifth meeting between the two pairs had to be stopped frequently due to the dripping water from the roof, which made the court surface slippery and dangerous. Wan Arif was also pleased to avenge their previous defeat to Sabar and Moh Reza in the final of the 2024 Madrid Spain Masters, where they lost 18-21, 21-17, 19-21. He added that he and Roy King have adapted better to the gameplay and tactical approach introduced by national men's doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi, six months after the high-profile Indonesian coach began his stint with Malaysia. Meanwhile, Herry, when contacted by Bernama, challenged Wan Arif-Roy King to maintain consistency in upcoming tournaments. He also expressed confidence that the duo's breakthrough title could boost their confidence heading into the 2025 World Championships, scheduled to be held in Paris from Aug 25–31. In a separate development, national men's singles shuttler Justin Hoh said his loss to Indonesia's Alwi Farhan at 15-21, 5-21 in the same tournament's final served as a valuable lesson in patience and game strategy improvement. Despite Justin falling short of clinching his first World Tour title, national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen remained pleased with the 21-year-old's maturity and urged him to bounce back stronger in the future.- BERNAMA

Bowling strikes again, diving stumbles — a tale of two Malaysian sports
Bowling strikes again, diving stumbles — a tale of two Malaysian sports

New Straits Times

time16 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

Bowling strikes again, diving stumbles — a tale of two Malaysian sports

KUALA LUMPUR: One is thriving. The other is drowning. As Malaysian tenpin bowlers continue to sweep titles abroad, the country's once-mighty diving programme is gasping for air — outclassed by rivals we used to leave in our wake. The contrast is staggering. While diving now grabs headlines for all the wrong reasons, Malaysian bowling just keeps winning, with barely a whisper of fanfare. At the recent Under-18 Asian Junior Championships in Doha, Malaysia's 16-strong squad steamrolled the competition, taking home seven golds, one silver and five bronzes to be crowned overall champions. They weren't plucked from elite academies. These were young talents drawn from 10 different states, the product of a solid, nationwide grassroots system. Just weeks earlier, more than 900 bowlers turned up for a National Junior Circuit leg in Perak. That's not just a tournament. That's a movement. Despite a modest budget, Malaysian bowlers have conquered the world from the PBA and PWBA Tours in the United States to major titles across Europe and Asia. Names like Datuk Shalin Zulkifli, Esther Cheah, Sin Li Jane, Natasha Roslan, Rafiq Ismail and Alex Liew are more than just stars — they're legends, produced by an effective system built on structure, merit and long-term planning, all thanks to the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC). Coaches are local. Selections are based on data — not guesswork. No politics. No chaos. Just results. Now compare that to Malaysian diving, once the envy of the region. At the recent World Aquatics Championships, 14-year-old Singaporean debutant Ainslee Kwang made history by reaching the semi-finals of the women's 10m platform — the first from her country to do so. Malaysia's Lee Yiat Qing finished a dismal 29th in the prelims. Two-time Olympic medallist Pandelela Rinong withdrew due to injury. This is the very event Malaysia used to own. Our divers once stood shoulder to shoulder with the Chinese — the undisputed kings of the sport, and held their own at the Olympics and World Championships. Now, we can't even stay competitive. In the men's 3m springboard, Syafiq Puteh and Nurqayyum Nazim Nazmi were left trailing behind divers from Singapore and Thailand. Once a diving powerhouse, Malaysia have hit rock bottom. This dramatic decline didn't happen overnight. It's the result of years of poor planning and short-sighted decisions that gutted what was once a model high-performance programme. The late Datuk Wira Mazlan Ahmad — the visionary NSC director-general who led Malaysia's diving boom — would be devastated. In the late 1990s, under the bold Jaya 98 programme, children as young as seven were asked to leap from 10m platforms to test their fearlessness. Brutal? Yes. Effective? Undeniably. It identified mental toughness early and laid the foundation for future champions. That system delivered. Malaysia's first diving golds came at the 1999 Brunei SEA Games through Yeoh Ken Nee and Farah Begum Abdullah. From there, the medals kept flowing — Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships and even Olympic podiums. The pinnacle? Cheong Jun Hoong's world title in 2017, when she beat the Chinese to win the 10m platform gold in Budapest. It was a magical moment and proof Malaysia had arrived. Then it all began to unravel. National head coach Yang Zhuliang — the man behind Malaysia's transformation — was unceremoniously axed. Officially, it was over internal issues and claims that he lacked sports science credentials. In truth, it was a disastrous move. His departure triggered a slow, painful freefall for Malaysian diving. Since then, Malaysia has only won the occasional medal. The structure is gone. The consistency is gone. Rivals have not only caught up, they've left us behind. Singapore and Thailand now boast stronger grassroots systems and better results. Even Japan and South Korea — once struggling to compete — have surged ahead. Yes, diving facilities remain limited in Malaysia. But they always were. In the past, we still produced world-class athletes. The real issue? Talent identification is weak. Coaching depth has diminished. Succession planning is almost non-existent. We don't lack brave, talented kids — but the system to nurture them is broken. To its credit, Malaysia Aquatics has acknowledged the nosedive. New youth camps, scouting efforts and coaching programmes have been introduced to rebuild the talent pipeline. But progress takes time and there are no guarantees. Years of mismanagement won't be fixed overnight. Worse still, we're bleeding expertise. National icons Bryan Nickson Lomas and Wendy Ng, who once flew the flag proudly, are now coaching in South Korea and Singapore respectively. It's more than a brain drain. It's a warning sign of just how far we've fallen. Even Pandelela, our Olympic hero, is past her peak. With the Thailand SEA Games just months away, Malaysia faces the very real threat of losing its regional diving crown — a once-unthinkable scenario. Maybe it's time diving and other underperforming sports took a page from MTBC's playbook. Bowling and diving are the story of Malaysian sport in two acts. One sport keeps striking gold. The other can barely make a splash. The question now: Will struggling sports finally learn from MTBC's winning formula? Because the solutions are there. What's missing… is the will.

Show of resilience
Show of resilience

The Star

time18 hours ago

  • The Star

Show of resilience

Well done: Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi beat Indonesia's world No. 8 Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza 22-20, 21-18 at the Macau Open men's doubles final. PETALING JAYA: Staying patient under a tough situation certainly paid dividends for men's doubles pair Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi at the Macau Open as they walked away with their maiden World Tour crown. In a final marred by a leaking roof and constant court stoppages, Roy King-Arif pulled off a stunning 22-20, 21-18 win over Indonesia's world No. 8 Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza to end their title wait at the Macau East Asian Games Dome yesterday. They braved slippery conditions and relentless delays to come through the test with flying colours. And that brought much delight to the men's doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi. 'It was not a good game to watch as there were breaks after just one or two points to mop the floor due to the leaking,' said Herry. 'It definitely disrupted the flow of the game but I told Roy King-Arif to keep their focus and stay patient. 'It was a tough situation out there and I'm happy that our pair managed to get the win and grab their first title this year.' Sabar-Moh started as the favourites but Roy King-Arif showed great determination and fighting spirit to come back from 18-20 to win the first game narrowly. In the second game, the Malaysians again pulled off an impressive comeback from 9-13 to come away with the victory. It was sweet revenge for Roy King-Arif after losing to Sabar-Moh in the Spain Masters final last year. Ending their title drought in the World Tour comes as a huge relief and a timely boost for Roy King-Arif especially with the pair set to make their debuts in the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris. 'Winning their first World Tour title will give Roy King-Arif more confidence heading into the world meet,' said Herry. 'This is a good achievement for them as their rankings also should go up and this will give them a better seeding in Paris.' Roy King-Arif are expected to break into the world's top 20 when the official rankings list are released tomorrow. The seedings for the world meet will be revealed on Friday while the draw will be out on Aug 13. The other Malaysian men's doubles pairs, who have qualified for the prestigious meet are world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, world No. 4 independent duo Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (No. 7). Meanwhile, mixed doubles pair Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing could not crown their surprise run to the final in Macau with the title after going down 13-21, 16-21 to Denmark's Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje. Jimmy-Pei Jing though can be proud of their efforts after making it into the title match in their maiden World Tour outing.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store