Sport

PETALING JAYA: The voice of the Sports Industry Coalition (SIC) has been heard and the members are grateful. The SIC, who represent the majority of mass participation sporting event industry players in Malaysia, extended their gratitude to the government on the reopening of mass participation sporting events. The industry took the biggest hit following the Covid-19 pandemic. “The coalition started when the mass participation community found us unrepresented and our voice unheard. The members of the coalition now have a platform,” said WS Khoo, the technical operation and new business development person of the ChampionChip Sports Timers Sdn Bhd. “This announcement is a welcome reprieve and would provide much-needed breathing space for the mass participation sports industry players who have lost their source of income. Their businesses are still reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and are yet on the road to recovery.” Added CG Lim, the regional director from World ... » Learn More about Sports Industry Coalition: Reopening of events a welcome reprieve

PETALING JAYA: Three new sports channels will start from Oct 1 with no extra cost. In a statement, Astro announced that they were refreshing their content with new channels to provide more sports action for their viewers. The new channels are Astro Arena 2 (CH802), Astro SuperSport 5 (CH815) and a brand new sports channel SPOTV (CH816). Astro Sports Pack customers will continue to enjoy top global sporting events such as UFC, Formula 1, Bundesliga, ATP, and WTA on Astro SuperSport 5 while MotoGP, Wimbledon and the US Open on SPOTV. Astro Arena 2 will feature edgy and localised coverage of international sports and sports news updates for Malaysian sports fans. Astro Arena 2 will be on the Family Pack for all Astro customers to enjoy. This follows Disney’s announcement that it will be discontinuing certain linear channels in the region after 30 Sept 2021, as part of its strategy to push its streaming services instead. ... » Learn More about Astro to give three new sports channels at no extra cost

THE Johor Youth and Sports Department will work closely with the Johor Sports Council (MSNJ) to prepare the state’s National Sports Vision 2030 (VSN2030). Johor tourism, youth and sports committee chairman Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said VSN2030 was an important sports development plan to gather information on the projection for the next 10 years before its implementation. “We are devising a sustainable policy for the sports industry through inclusive ideas and well-planned development, aside from optimising all existing sports resources and facilities. “The collective input we have is gathered from all sports stakeholders in the state, namely industry players, government and private sectors, higher learning institutions and individuals,” he told StarMetro. He added that Johor’s sports development vision would be planned meticulously to cover current and future sports programmes. Onn Hafiz also said VSN2030 would focus on the development of sports and it would be implemented as ... » Learn More about Johor sports development plan aims for economic revival

PUTRAJAYA Corporation (PjC) is organising virtual sporting events for the community to keep active amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Its community service director Rosli Abdul Talib said taking part in sporting activities would help people of all ages have fun and cope with stresses in life. To encourage participation from people of all ages, he said PjC selected activities that were easy and on trend, namely jump rope and skateboarding. “These activities are also chosen because they can be completed easily anywhere. “The Jump Rope Challenge Putrajaya 2021 is open to the city’s residents as well as those who work or study here. “Participants need to send a video of themselves jumping rope for one minute. “The contestant with the highest number of jumps wins,” he added. The Best Skate Video at Home Challenge is open to all Malaysians. Rosli said participants needed to upload videos of them in action, to their personal Facebook or Instagram account with the hashtags ... » Learn More about Virtual sporting events key to staying active

GEORGE TOWN: Veteran sports journalist Ronnie Oh ( pic ) has died of a lung infection at the age of 67. Oh – who retired in 2012 as senior writer at the Star Media Group – breathed his last at his home in Island Park at 2.40am yesterday. Oh, who worked at The Star for over 30 years, distinguished himself as a passionate sports writer. Oh’s father, Oh Kee Tiang, was also an editor at The Star. His former colleague KH Ong, 67, said Oh, who was passionate about local and foreign football, was part of a rare breed of sports journalists. “For almost 30 years, we teamed up well covering sports in the northern states from the 1970s to the 1990s,” he said. Former Star Media Group deputy chief photographer Chin Cheng Yeang, 53, said Oh was well-liked. “He always took care of his colleagues and other press members, be it during football coverage or other major sporting events.” His funeral wake is at Leng How Koe funeral parlour in Paya Terubong, while the funeral procession is ... » Learn More about Veteran Star sports journo passes away

20:52 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times tackles the biggest sports talking points every month. While chasing her dream of playing football professionally, Siti Rosnani Azman herded cows and picked fruit to extend her work and holiday visa during her stint with semi-pro club South West Queensland Thunder. The national women's footballer recently achieved her goal by signing a professional one-year contract with Japanese club International Athletic Club (INAC) Kobe Leonessa, making her only Singapore's second professional female player. In this episode, sports reporter Kimberly Kwek speaks with Siti Rosnani Azman about joining INAC Kobe, what her experience in Japan has been like so far and her football ambitions. Produced by: Kimberly Kwek ( [email protected] ), Ernest Luis & Penelope Lee Edited by: Penelope Lee Subscribe to the ST Sports Talk podcast series and rate us on your favourite audio apps: Channel: https://str.sg/JWRE Apple Podcasts: ... » Learn More about ST Sports Talk Podcast: Siti Rosnani Azman on going pro and life in Japan

National – The Royal Gazette today, September 21st, published the announcement of the Thai professional sports committee to include “e-sports” as one of the professional sports in Thailand. E-sports, which stands for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games that are often organized individually or as teams among multiplayer video game competitions, particularly professional players. Some of the most popular esports games nowadays include League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, Dota 2, and Call of Duty. As one of the Thai professional sports, E-Sports will now have rights and opportunities to seek assistance and support in various fields from the professional sports committee as well as the “Professional Sports Promotion Fund” of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT). The authorities will provide welfare, athlete development, honoring professional athletes, promoting the athletes to become professional athletes nationally and ... » Learn More about “E-sports” officially added as a professional sport in Thailand

The US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 enabled women athletes to represent the country at the Olympic Games for the first time. Even so, the progress was only gradual; Afghanistan has sent 23 athletes to the Games since then, yet only four have been women. Now, the Taliban’s return to power following the American withdrawal this summer threatens to put an end to what little progress has been made. On September 8, the Taliban’s cultural commission official Ahmadullah Wasiq announced a ban on women’s sports, deeming their participation “not necessary”. Afghanistan’s new sports chief Bashir Ahmad Rustamzai appeared to tacitly support this stance on September 15, when he declined to confirm whether women would still be able to participate in the 400 sports that comply with sharia law. Amid protests in Kabul demanding women’s rights to education and work, many women athletes have fled for their lives, while others have stayed in the hope of reform. Here are some of their ... » Learn More about Meet the defiant Afghan athletes vowing to fight the Taliban’s ban on women’s sports

(Reuters) - European Leagues, the body representing professional club competitions on the continent, has firmly and unanimously opposed any proposals to stage the World Cup every two years. European Leagues is the latest among a number of stakeholders in the game who have expressed concerns over FIFA's plans for a biennial World Cup. "The Leagues will work together with the other stakeholders to prevent football governing bodies to take unilateral decisions that will harm domestic football which is the foundation of our industry," the association said in a statement on Thursday. FIFA, acting on a suggestion made by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation earlier this year, is conducting a feasibility study into whether it can go ahead with the ambitious idea of a biennial World Cup. "New competitions, revamped competitions or expanded competitions for club and national team football both at continental level and/or at global level are not the solutions to the current problems ... » Learn More about Soccer-European club body opposes biennial World Cup plans

EVER wondered how weightlifters bulk up like an Incredible Hulk? Some work their butts off to build their muscles through a strict regiment of weightlifting and diet but there are also another group who take an easier route to muscle up through illegal use of steroids. In Malaysia, the sport of weightlifting has been plagued by doping issues with a slew of positive cases in recent years. Two national weightlifters were tested positive recently for performance-enhancing anabolic steroids and their identities have been withheld pending a hearing later this month. The two are staring at a four-year ban from the sport as recommended under the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) code of practice. There have been at least five other doping cases recorded over the last five years and the Malaysian Weightlifting Association (MWA) and National Anti-Doping Agency of Malaysia (Adamas) are at a loss on how to tackle this. And one does wonder whether it is time for the authorities to classify ... » Learn More about Making a bold stand to prevent doping remains a weighty issue