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New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Malaysian athletes show promise at WUG despite missing target
ESSEN: Malaysia wrapped up their campaign at the Rhine-Ruhr World University Games (WUG) in Germany with just two medals — a silver in swimming and a bronze in badminton. Khiew Hoe Yean ended a 34-year wait for Malaysia in the pool by bagging silver in the men's 400m freestyle, while Wong Ling Ching delivered bronze in the women's singles badminton event. Hoe Yean's silver was the country's first swimming medal at the WUG or Universiade since Jeffrey Ong's silver in the men's 1,500m freestyle at the 1991 Sheffield Games. Malaysia sent a 64-strong contingent to compete in six of the 19 sports contested at this year's edition, held across Duisburg and surrounding cities. The modest two-medal haul fell well short of the seven-medal target. Still, there were encouraging signs, particularly in the pool. Hoe Yean not only won silver but also helped set a new national record in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay alongside Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal, Lim Yin Chuen, and Tan Khai Xin. Hoe Yean also broke the national mark in his individual 400m race. Arvin Shaun posted a personal best in the men's 100m freestyle, while in athletics, Nurul Ashikin Abas (women's triple jump), the men's 4x100m, and women's 4x400m relay teams all recorded season-best times. Six Malaysians made it to the finals in their events, four of them in athletics. Among them was Azeem Fahmi, who finished fourth in the men's 100m final. The 21-year-old flag bearer and debutant showed his potential in the blue riband event but also learned how narrow the margins are at the top. The women's recurve archery team also made history by reaching the semi-finals for the first time. Despite missing the medal target, the effort, hunger and composure shown by Malaysia's young athletes against world-class opposition were widely praised. The experience gained is expected to serve them well as they build toward bigger international competitions. The Games ended with a vibrant closing ceremony at Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord. Japan topped the overall medal table with 34 golds, followed by China (30) and the United States (28). The next edition of the WUG will be hosted by Chungcheong, South Korea, in 2027. - BERNAMA
Barnama
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Barnama
WUG 2025: Archery Squad Tested By Cold, Windy Conditions On Opening Day
From Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif ESSEN (Germany), July 22 (Bernama) -- The national archery squad began their campaign at the 2025 World University Games (WUG) in Rhine-Ruhr under cold and windy conditions as the archery competition got underway today at Sportpark Am Hallo. Temperatures dipped to 17 degrees Celsius, with strong winds testing the focus and technique of the world's top university archers competing in the individual ranking round. bootstrap slideshow In the women's compound event, Natasha Mohd Shahruddin emerged as the best-performing Malaysian archer, finishing 28th out of 51 participants with 668 points, followed by Nurul Syaza Husna Mahari in 34th place (653 points) and Nur Nisa Aliya Muhamad Radzif in 41st spot (644 points). In the women's compound team event, the Malaysian trio, who amassed 1,965 points, placed ninth out of 12 countries. 'I'm relieved to have made it through the qualification round. It was quite tough because the weather was very cold and windy, but I managed to control my shots better … I'm confident that my teammates and I can perform better next,' said Natasha when met today. In the men's recurve event, Muhammad Akid Bazli Ezaidin finished 38th out of 86 archers with 631 points, followed by Mohamad Firdaus Mohd Rusmadi in 49th (621 points) and Muhammad Haziq Khalil in 56th (614 points). The result placed Malaysia 15th out of 17 countries with a combined score of 1,866 points. Meanwhile, in the swimming competition held at the Schwimm- und Sprunghalle im Europasportpark in Berlin, Malaysia qualified for the final of the men's 4x200m freestyle relay, scheduled for tonight (early Wednesday Malaysian time).
Barnama
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Barnama
WUG 2025: Sprinter Muhammad Azeem All Set To Kickstart Athletics Challenge
From Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif ESSEN (Germany), July 20 (Bernama) -- The national athletics squad, led by sprint ace Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi, will begin their challenge in the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr World University Games in Lohrheidestadion, Bochum, tomorrow. Muhammad Azeem, who is also the national 100 metres (m) record holder with a time of 10.09 seconds (s), will be in action in the first round of his pet event in the evening. bootstrap slideshow The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medallist will have Aliff Iman Mohd Fahimi for company. At the same time, Umar Osman, who holds the national 400m record of 46.09s, and Muhammad Aidil Azhar Azrul Hisyam will take part in the men's 400m event. Muhammad Fakrul Afizul Nasir, the national 400m hurdles record holder with a time of 51.26s, is also slated to compete. In the women's category, Azreen Nabila Alias and Nur Afrina Batrisyia Momahad Rizal will be hoping to do their best in the 100m event, while Nurul Aliah Maisarah Nor Azmi and Chelsea Cassiopea Evalli Bopulas will battle it out in the first round of the 400m event. Swimming and taekwondo, which enter the fifth day of competition tomorrow, are still awaiting their medals after swimmer Khiew Hoe Yean presented the national contingent with the first medal in Berlin on Thursday. Meanwhile, the national contingent ended Day Four of the WUG 2025 much earlier after the taekwondo exponents and swimmers fell in the preliminary rounds.
Barnama
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Barnama
2025 WUG: Badminton Team's Medal Chances Bright After Favourable Draw
From Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi bin Mohamad Arif ESSEN (Germany), July 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's chances of winning a medal in the badminton mixed team event at the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr World University Games received a boost following a favourable round-of-16 draw, with the national team, who topped Group D meeting Group C runners-up France at Westenergie Sporthalle in Mulheim an der Ruhr tomorrow. Should they be able to beat the French, the national team will be up against the United States or India in the quarterfinal before setting up a likely meeting between either champions Japan or Taiwan in the semi-final. bootstrap slideshow An easy match up at the knock-out stage will help Malaysia retain their ideal match fitness after playing only one group match against Canada, which they won 4-1 today. The Malaysian badminton team aim to improve on the two bronze medals they picked up at the last WUG, hoping to secure a silver at the very least. In other competitions today, national swimmer Khiew Hoe Yean qualified for the semi-final of the men's 200 metre (m) freestyle event at Schwimm-und Sprunghalle im Europasportpark in Berlin by finishing third in Heat Six with a time of 1 minute 48.68 seconds (s), after winning the silver in the men's 400 m freestyle yesterday. He is joined by teammate Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal, who also qualified by finishing sixth in Heat Eight with a time of 1:49.66s. Both swimmers will compete in the semi-finals, scheduled to take place at night (early Saturday morning Malaysia time). Meanwhile, national men's poomsae trio of Randy Owen Augustine Linggi, Chin Ken Haw and Jason Loo Jun Wei only managed to finish sixth in the final, a reasonable achievement for the country's first ever participation in the event. South Korea took gold, while silver went to China and Taiwan won the bronze. South Korea is at the top of the medal standings with three gold, three silver and one bronze, followed by the United States (3,1,6) and China (2,3,2) as of 5 pm local time (11 pm Malaysia time).
Barnama
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Barnama
Hoe Yean's Silver Sparks Hope For More WUG 2025 Medals
From Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif ESSEN (Germany), July 18 (Bernama) -- National swimming ace Khiew Hoe Yean's impressive feat is hoped to spark more success for the Malaysian contingent at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 World University Games (WUG) here. Malaysia's chef de mission (CDM) to WUG 2025, Assoc Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Hafiz Yusoff, said Hoe Yean's silver medal in the men's 400-metre freestyle event yesterday not only ended a 34-year wait, but was also sweetened by a new national record. bootstrap slideshow With Hoe Yean's achievement, Mohd Hafiz believed the national contingent was on the right track to achieving its target of seven medals regardless of colour. 'We expect that Hoe Yean's achievement will generate momentum for more medal-winning performances in upcoming events. 'I believe the Malaysian contingent is now on the best path to achieving the targeted medals. We hope all athletes will deliver their best to achieve personal bests and, secondly, reach the podium,' he told reporters here. Yesterday (early morning Malaysian time), Hoe Yean made history by clinching the silver medal in a thrilling final at the Schwimm-und Sprunghalle im Europasportpark in Berlin, marking Malaysia's first medal of the current edition. In that race, Hoe Yean also erased his own national record of 3 minutes 48.36 seconds by clocking 3:47.38s. The success ended Malaysia's 34-year medal drought in swimming at WUG, last achieved by Jeffrey Ong, who won silver in the men's 1,500m freestyle at the 1991 edition in Sheffield.
