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Young Crocs grab third spot in Isuzu Cup BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sports - New 2 Borneo

Young Crocs grab third spot in Isuzu Cup

Posted: 21 Dec 2013 02:26 PM PST

by Matthew T. Umpang reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on December 22, 2013, Sunday

KOTA SAMARAHAN: SFDP-Young Crocs defeated Miri 2-1 in the play-off for third place yesterday at this year's Isuzu Cup.

Both teams fought hard in the consolation match, deciding that it was a worthwhile prize to finish third in the tournament.

Playing at the Unimas football field, the Young Crocs took the lead as early as the third minute when Mohd Hafizuddin Borhan dribbled past the Miri defenders.

But Miri equalised 10 minutes later after Robbie Epi Lukas connected with a pass from a teammate.

It was left to Zairul Fikri Kram to emerge as the day's hero as he scored the winning goal in the 63rd minute.

Coach Safri Amit was obviously delighted with the performance of his boys.

"I was given only one week to get this team prepared as most of them are staying away from Kuching. This tournament proved to be a good exposure for the team as well," he said.

The Young Crocs, mostly 17 years of age, fielded the youngest players in the competition.

Kuching and Limbang, who beat SFDP-Young Crocs and Miri respectively in the semi-finals, were scheduled to play in the Cup final later last night.

That match and the the tournament's closing ceremony to follow would mark the end of the tournament played at the Unimas Sports Complex.

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Life bans imposed in Malaysia for match-fixing

Posted: 21 Dec 2013 02:25 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian football authorities have imposed a lifetime ban on five players and three officials for match-fixing in the domestic league, a senior football official said yesterday.

The eight, who represented Kuala Lumpur, were also slapped with a RM20,000 (US$6,084) fine each, part of Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) push to fight match-rigging in the Southeast Asian country.

Taufek Abdul Razak, FAM disciplinary committee chairman said another seven players from the same football club will face a disciplinary hearing on Friday.

"It is a deterrent punishment. We are serious in fighting match-fixing," he told AFP.

"I warn the players — you can fool some people some times but you cannot fool all the people all the time," he added.

After a dire season the Kuala Lumpur team have been relegated to the third-tier FAM Cup competition next season.

The non-players banned were Slovak coach Stanislav Lieskovsky, assistant manager Rosli Omar and team official Shaari Jani. The Slovak manager had left Malaysia in July.

The five Kuala Lumpur players named were defender Jeremy Danker, right back Hafizi Roslee, centre-back Fadhulah Yunsiar, midfielder Khairul Anuar and goalkeeper Phoo Kai Lun.

Fears of match-rigging surfaced in May last year, particularly during the second-tier Malaysian Premier League match between Kuala Lumpur and Sime Darby.

Angry fans waved banners with slogans such as "Bookie detected" and "Bookie 5 – Fans 0", at the start of the match.

The final result was a shock because Sime Darby won 5-0.

Allegations of match-fixing have long tainted football in Malaysia, which last February hosted an international meeting on the problem. — AFP

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Thai training stint for state taekwondo exponents

Posted: 21 Dec 2013 02:23 PM PST

by Philip Wong reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on December 22, 2013, Sunday

SIBU: Sarawak Taekwondo Association (STA) have shortlisted 10 exponents for a four-month training stint in Thailand, starting Jan 9 next year.

Rejang Taekwondo Club (RTC) chief coach Thomas Tang said the training stint would help prepare the athletes for the 2014 Sukma to be held in Perlis.

"We need to make early preparation so that our fighters will be fully committed to carry out their duties when the time comes," he told thesundaypost.

Tang revealed that four of the ten were from three taekwondo clubs in the central region with the rest from Kuching, Bintulu and Miri.

The three clubs are RTC, Sri Sibu Taekwondo Club and Meradong Taekwondo Club.

The RTC duo are Tie Tong Siong, 17, and Joyce Hii, 19.

Irene Lee, 17, will represent Sri Sibu Taekwondo Club  while Kong Chii Yong, 16,  will represent Meradong Taekwondo Club.

Rising star Tong Siong was a silver medallist at the Borneo Cup International Invitational Taekwondo Championship held in Kuching and also a gold medallist in the National Circuit Sarawak Taekwondo 1st leg championship also held in Kuching.

Tang expressed high hope that Tong Siong, one of the best exponents RTC had produced thus far, would deliver.

"It is still too early to make any prediction now but Tong Siong is a hardworking exponent and he should be able to excel if he continues to work hard for the title," Tang shared.

Tang also reiterated STA's commitment to help Sarawak perform well in the next Sukma.

"We will leave no stones unturned in our quest to bring back as many gold medals as possible in the 2014 Perlis Sukma."

After the training stint in Thailand, Tang said the exponents would be sent for more overseas exposure and competitions.

Meanwhile, Tang also commented on the current Myamnar SEA Games in which three exponents from Sarawak are representing Malaysia.

Jenny Soh, who is from Sri Sibu Taekwondo Club, had collected a bronze thus far to add to Malaysia's collection of three bronze medals in the sport (as at press time).

Ahmed Radin and Nur Ira, from Bintulu Smart Taekwondo Club, are in Myanmar to take part in the sparring and poomsae events.

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Suarez pens new long-term deal with Liverpool

Posted: 21 Dec 2013 02:21 PM PST

LONDON: Luis Suarez has commited his future to Liverpool by signing a new long-term contract, the club confirmed on Friday.

It was not immediately clear how long the deal wwas for, but Suarez told the club website: "I am delighted to have agreed a new deal with Liverpool and have my future secured for the long term."

Suarez, 26, has been in impressive form  after a turbulent summer in which he suggested the club had reneged on an agreement to sell him if they failed to qualify for the Champions League.

It had been expected that talks would continue throughout the season and that the Uruguayan would want to wait and see whether the Reds secured a Champions League place for next season, but the club confirmed he had signed a new deal.

Suarez told the official website www.liverpoolfc.tv: "Without doubt the backing I have received from the Liverpool fans has influenced my decision. I am so proud to represent them and go out to do my best for them every time I pull on the shirt."

Liverpool did not specify the length of Suarez's new deal but it is expected to make the 26-year-old striker the best-paid player in the club's history.

Suarez's spell at Anfield has often been a controversial one after he was handed two long-term bans, one for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra and last season for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic.

Suarez added: "We have some great players and the team is growing and improving all the time. I believe I can achieve the ambitions of winning trophies and playing at the very highest level with Liverpool. My aim is to help get us there as quickly as possible."

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said: "This is fantastic news for everyone associated with the club; the team, the owners and most importantly the supporters.

"Luis is a world-class talent and securing his services is crucial for what we are trying to achieve here.

"What's most important and most exciting is that, at just 26 years old, his best years are still ahead of him and we now know we'll be seeing him reach that potential in a Liverpool shirt."

Liverpool had to fend off interest from Arsenal in the summer, who had a bid of  40,000,001 rejected, but their determination to keep Suarez has paid off with the Reds now second in the Premier League with the Uruguayan the leading scorer in the top flight with 17 goals, four ahead of his nearest rival. — AFP

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Tourists to spend US$10 bln during Brazil World Cup

Posted: 21 Dec 2013 02:19 PM PST

BRAS LIA: Foreign and Brazilian tourists are expected to spend US$10.4 billion during next year's World Cup, more than the public funds invested for staging the event, the Brazilian tourism board said Friday.

"These are important resources which fuel  economic sectors of all Brazilian regions, from aviation to the informal economy," said Flavio Dino, president of state tourism board Embratur, in a statement titled "Mega-events are worth it."

He recalled that the Confederations Cup, a 15-day dry run last June for the World Cup, injected  311 million in the Brazilian economy.

It was staged in the middle of massive nation-wide street protests in which hundreds of thousands of Brazilians demanded a better quality of life, an end to corruption and railed against the high cost of staging the World Cup and the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

A month later, World Youth Day, a major Catholic youth fest held in the presence of Pope Francis in Rio, injected another  502 million into the economy.

And Dino said that even if revenues do not totally cover investments for major events, it was important to note that one out of three reals invested by the federal government for the World Cup is disbursed to upgrade urban mobility projects in major cities.

He added that apart from immediate gains, events like the World Cup and World Youth Day give Brazil a visibility that would normally take "decades" to obtain.

"Some see major events as gobbling up resources that could be allocated to public services. I prefer to see them as a big gamble on a new development project which obviously encompasses an urgent modernization of public services," the Embratur chief said. — AFP

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Women rule the 2013 pool, Phelps hints at return

Posted: 21 Dec 2013 02:18 PM PST

BERLIN: The ladies ruled the pool in 2013 with five long-course world records broken by women at Barcelona's world championships while swimming superstar Michael Phelps has fuelled rumours of a comeback.

The 28-year-old Phelps walked away from swimming after winning a record 18th gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics.

But having registered with the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Phelps will be eligible to compete at the US trials for the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia, and has not ruled out a comeback ahead of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

"I don't know what's gonna happen in three years. I don't even know what is gonna happen tomorrow," said Phelps earlier this month when asked about a possible return.

"It's 'the million-dollar question'."

With Phelps missing from August's world championships, the ladies shone in Barcelona with US teenage star Missy Franklin, 18, winning six gold medals while Katie Ledecky, 16, won four golds and smashed both the 800m and 1500m freestyle records.

Ledecky shaved nearly six seconds off the 1500m record, then lowered the 800m mark, while Denmark's Rikke Moller Pedersen also set a new 200m breaststroke record.

Lithuania's 16-year-old star Ruta Meilutyte built on her 100m Olympic breaststroke triumph by winning the world gold over the same distance in Barcelona and also claimed the world records over 50m and 100m.

China's long-distance freestyle star Sun Yang was again in devastating form after winning the 400m and 1500m finals at London 2012, and won 400m, 800m and 1500m golds in the Barcelona pool.

But Sun, 22, fell offside with Chinese authorities last month when he was found to have driven without a licence after a white Porsche Cayenne he was driving was rear-ended by a bus in the eastern city of Hangzhou. — AFP

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