28 Apr

The man challenging Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed Hammam believes his chances of winning a crucial vote next month have improved after weeks of mud-slinging. Sheikh Salman Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the chairman of the Bahrain football association, said he was confident of taking Mohamed's Fifa executive committee seat, which is up for grabs at the AFC Congress on May 8. If the Qatari loses that powerful position, he has said he will step down as AFC chief despite his term running until 2011."I am confident of my ability and my chances are better than my opponent in the battle for several reasons,"...

02:47 / International / Sports
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15 Apr

Playing for a 0-0 draw against Villarreal in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday won't be good enough for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. Arsenal will advance to the semifinals if they can keep the match at Emirates Stadium scoreless because they earned a 1-1 draw last week in the first leg at Villarreal. "Our approach is to win the game, we have to be as simple as that," Wenger said Tuesday. "I don't feel that we are used to going into games trying to play 0-0. Of course we will be organized and disciplined but, when we have...

02:34 / International / Sports
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15 Apr

The Korean Football Association is at the center of a row that could have a huge impact on global soccer. That sounds a little dramatic when you learn that it is all about the May 8 election for the West Asian seat on the executive committee of FIFA. But this seemingly less-than-vital vote could have major repercussions. Asia has four seats on the committee, with only the West Asian one up for grabs. It is currently occupied by the Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed Bin Hammam and he is being challenged by Shaikh Salman of Bahrain. Despite the fact that he is...

02:29 / Sports
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15 Apr

Chelsea denied Liverpool the glory of another sensational European comeback to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 7-5 aggregate win. Liverpool, trailing 3-1 from the first leg at Anfield, stunned the Blues with two first-half goals from Fabio Aurelio and Xabi Alonso, who scored a penalty. Chelsea's defensive frailties, exposed so clinically by Bolton in the Premier League at the weekend, looked like costing them a place in the last four as Liverpool, without their talismanic midfielder Steven Gerrard, threatened to pull off another miracle. But the Blues looked home and dry after producing a sensational comeback of their own...

02:26 / International / Sports
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01 Apr

Former international Dollah Salleh is tipped to become the new national football coach. It is learnt that Dollah, who is now with Premier League side Shahzan Muda, has received an offer to take the hot seat vacated by B. Sathianathan, whose services was terminated last month. Former Sarawak coach Jalil Ramli and former Police coach K. Thaiyanathan have also been linked to become the assistant coaches. Newly-appointed national team manager Datuk Gulzar Mohd Nor indicated last month that he preferred local coaches to take the jobs. Dollah turned to coaching in 2003 and he got off to a great start, leading Petaling Jaya Municipal...

02:22 / Local / Sports
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30 Mar

Back to playing golf, now Tiger Woods is back to winning tournaments. With those familiar back-nine runs, Woods made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational for his first victory since returning from knee surgery. Woods closed with a 67 for a one-shot victory over Sean O'Hair, who led Woods by five shots going into the final round, and matched his largest comeback ever on the PGA Tour. It was Woods' third tournament since returning from an eight-month layoff. "It feels good to be back in contention, to feel the rush," Woods said. "It's been a...

10:58 / International / Sports
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24 Mar

It was a memorable day for world No. 1 men’s singles shuttler Lee Chong Wei and coach Misbun Sidek when they bagged the top prizes at the 2008 National Sports Award ceremony here yesterday. The 28-year-old Chong Wei was named as the best sportsman while Misbun lifted the best male coach award. Chong Wei, however, was not present at the award ceremony and his father, Lee Ah Chai, received the trophy and RM10,000 on his behalf from the King. Chong Wei is in Hyderabad for the Indian Open beginning tomorrow and he is aiming to win his first back-to-back title outside of Malaysia....

10:52 / Local / Sports
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23 Mar

Jessica Cox inspires audiences around the world with her spunk and indomitable spirit. JESSICA Cox is a superwoman of sorts. She may not be saving victims from burning buildings, but she is a heroine in the hearts of many. Born without arms, Cox used to watch with envy as other kids swung about on the monkey bars in elementary school while she was limited to the swings. Frustrated, she would envision herself flying over the playground like Superwoman while everyone watched in disbelief. “I would imagine taking people up one at a time to experience my super powers. Years later, I realised that my imagination...

10:47 / Local
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20 Mar

National doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky wants more action and not mere talk from Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif after the duo’s disappointing outing in Europe. Rexy had rated them highly after the duo vowed to do well in Europe. But the world No. 4 went down tamely to Hwang Ji-man-Han Sang-hoon of South Korea in the quarter-finals of the All-England and suffered a shocking first round defeat to Shintaro Ikeda-Shuichi Sakamoto of Japan in the Swiss Open last week. With the back-to-back defeats and the decision to skip the India Open (March 24-29) and the Asian Badminton Championships in...

10:44 / Local / Sports
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15 Mar

Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed Bin Hammam's position on the FIFA executive committee could be in jeopardy after 19 AFC countries backed rival Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. Bin Hammam's tenure on the committee comes to an end in two months' time, with Al Khalifa looking to replace the Qatari as one of the region's four representatives. More worryingly for Bin Hammam, the action will also be construed as a referendum on his six-and-a-half-year presidency of the AFC, with the rebel countries unhappy at the 59-year-old's proposal of a 12-year marketing deal with World Sport Group as well as moving...

10:12 / Local / Sports
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