Dream comes true for Jazeman as he finally gets to race in Super GT
PETALING JAYA: Experienced Malaysian racer Jazeman Jaafar ( pic ) will finally get his chance to realise his racing dream after a five-year delay.
Jazeman will make an exciting debut in the Super GT Series at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit from June 26-28, partnering with rising Chinese driver Kerong Li under the Earl Bamber Motorsport (EBM) banner.
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The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
China dominates France, Türkiye outlasts Poland in VNL Beijing leg (updated)
BEIJING, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Host China thrilled the home crowd with a dominant straight-set victory over France, while Türkiye battled past Poland in a five-set showdown on Saturday at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) in Beijing, setting the stage for a high-stakes final day. China swept France 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-11) in the evening session, delivering a commanding performance in front of a packed home audience at the National Indoor Stadium. This young Chinese squad, with more than half the players making their international debuts, opened its campaign with a win over Belgium before falling to Poland on Thursday. "We made important adjustments after the last match," said China's head coach Zhao Yong. "This young team continues to improve match by match. Today, our preparation, execution, and team spirit were all at a high level." Outside hitters Wu Mengjie and Zhuang Yushan led China's scoring with 17 and 15 points respectively, while middle blocker Wang Yuanyuan added 10. The team also saw a strong debut from 17-year-old Wang Aoqian, who was added to the roster earlier in the day and contributed six points, including five in the third set. "We needed to improve our middle attack, and Wang Aoqian has good chemistry with our setter Zhang Zixuan. For a 17-year-old playing her first big international match - and entering during a tough moment - she did really well," Zhao said. Reflecting on her first international appearance, Wang Aoqian admitted she was nervous at first. "I was already very tense on the bench. When coach Zhao asked me to warm up, I was shaking a little, but my teammates helped calm me down," she said. "For attacking, I think I can contribute. Since the coach trusted me, I just gave it all." "I've played with our setter Zhang Zixuan before, so I felt confident partnering with her. I think the coach wanted me to help relieve pressure on our wing hitters by keeping the middle attack alive. After I got my first point, I gradually settled in," she added. In the opening set, China pulled away after a 4-all tie with consecutive blocks and strong net play. The hosts surged to a 12-9 lead, forcing a French timeout, and never looked back. Zhuang Yushan led the charge with eight points in the first set alone, and China closed the frame with five straight points from 20-17, capped by Zhuang's well-timed tip. The second set remained close early on, with ties at 8, 10, 12, 14 and 17. China then broke through with two transition attacks and an ace to take a 20-17 lead. Wu Mengjie's powerful spike and a block from Gong Xiangyu extended the advantage, and China sealed the set 25-18. China dominated the third set from the outset. After leading 13-9, the home side pulled away with an overwhelming 11-0 run to reach 24-9. France saved two match points, but a service error handed China the final point at 25-11. "We saw clearly today the gap that still exists between us and the top-tier teams," said French head coach Cesar Hernandez. "Of course I'm disappointed - we always want to win - but this is also about building for the future. We're giving young players a chance and adjusting step by step. Tomorrow's match against Thailand is our final here, and we're ready to give it everything." Earlier in the afternoon, Türkiye outlasted Poland 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-7) to remain unbeaten in Beijing. "I'm very happy because we made some lineup changes, and everyone stepped up. We may not be the strongest team right now, but we have fighting spirit. Today we proved that when we play well, we can compete with anyone," said Türkiye head coach Daniele Santarelli. The match featured relentless attacks, long rallies, and standout performances on both sides. Türkiye's veteran outside hitter Hande Baladin led the way with 22 points, including two crucial ones in the final set. Opposite Aleksia Karutasu added 19 points, while Yaprak Erkek chipped in 15. "It was a tough match against a very strong opponent," said Baladin. "We showed fighting spirit from the first point until the last. I don't usually comment on my own performance, I just try to help the team in any way I can. As a more experienced player, I also try to support the younger ones and help them grow - we're making progress every day." Türkiye took command of the fifth set from the start, with multiple players contributing: Karutasu scored four points, Erkek three, and Baladin helped finish the job, sealing Türkiye's third consecutive victory in Beijing. Poland's Magdalena Stysiak delivered a game-high 23 points, and middle blocker Dominika Pierzchala contributed 15, as the team narrowly missed out on maintaining its unbeaten run. With the result, Türkiye improved to 3-0 in the Beijing leg. Poland dropped to 2-1 but remains in strong contention. Sunday will mark the final day of the Beijing leg, featuring three matches. Belgium will face Poland, while France takes on Thailand in the afternoon session. Host China will close out the event with a highly anticipated clash against Türkiye in the evening. "It will be a very tough match (against Türkiye). Türkiye just beat Poland in five sets, but I believe our players will give 100 percent. We are ready to take on that responsibility," said Zhao.
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
No Senayan heroics for Wei Chong-Kai Wun this time
KUALA LUMPUR: Men's doubles Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun's heroics at the Istora Senayan were not enough this time. They fell 21-18, 12-21, 21-18 in the Indonesia Open semi-finals to homesters Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza Isfahani, the world No. 8, on Saturday. The world No. 7 Malaysian pair lost narrowly in an hour. Wei Chong-Kai Wun had beaten Sabar-Reza at the same stage at the iconic venue last year. And in January, Wei Chong-Kai Wun hit a high to capture the Indonesia Masters at Istora Senayan. Despite the setback this time, Wei Chong-Kai Wun have really done well this season as they have also won the Malaysia Masters last month, upstaging their illustrious compatriots Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik. At the sidelines, Sabar-Reza's coach, Hendra Setiawan, got the better of his former mentor Herry IP, who is currently Malaysia's men's doubles chief. Under Herry, Hendra won the 2008 Olympic gold with Markis Kido and secured multiple world titles with Mohammad Ahsan. After the match, Herry hugged and congratulated Hendra as well as Sabar and Reza who had also trained under him. Meanwhile women's doubles world No. 4 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah ensured Malaysia a representative in the final as they will play China's world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning for the title on Sunday.
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: Unpaid traffic summonses
Malaysian vehicle owners particularly resent paying traffic summonses for illegal parking, unless forced by police action. Motorists tend to view summonses in three informal categories. First, local council tickets are often ignored due to their perceived lack of enforcement power. Second, traffic police summonses have more legal weight, as non-payment can lead to arrest warrants. Still, many ignore them, especially for illegal parking. RTD summonses, however, are usually taken seriously, as they block road tax and licence renewals until the summonses are paid. Even then, the most stubborn ignore police and RTD's annual flat rate amnesty offers. RTD said that it collected only RM56 million from 374,024 summonses, far below the potential amount, which could have been double or triple that amount. This suggests that many drivers aren't deterred by blacklisting — they continue driving without insurance, road tax or licences. The police discount, valid until June 30, offers a flat RM150 rate for speeding and traffic light violations — similar to RTD's offer. Here lies the problem. Motorists' blase attitude towards these offers reflects a contempt for traffic laws and penalties. This contempt has translated into more serious traffic offences, and more tragic accidents. Since the discounts don't improve road safety, it's time to scrap them and revive tougher penalties that deter offenders. Sure, that would mean more officers and working hours to round up offenders. Police may have to return to making "house calls" on offenders but it's a necessary price to forcibly change an entrenched mindset. There is a plausible solution: integrate data sharing between the traffic police, RTD, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and, while we are at it, the local councils. Under this integration, summonses imposed by traffic police and local councils are automatically recorded by the RTD and SPAD, which immediately blacklist drivers and vehicles with outstanding summonses. Alas, this may not happen in the near future because these agencies and their processes operate independently with little push to exchange data and information. Even when traffic police files a request to the RTD to blacklist certain offenders, the process is tedious and inefficient. Still, this logical and unified system isn't sidelined just yet: there are still efforts to combine the Automated Awareness Safety System, the Automated Enforcement System and the Kejara points demerit system. There's only one problem: this initiative had been lumbering for more than a decade and it is still lumbering.
