Win 2 season tickets to Maybank Malaysian Open 2011 !

Fancy winning 2 season tickets to the Maybank Malaysian Open ? Simple ! All you need to do is answer a few questions and follow very simple instructions and the tickets will be yours courtesy of our friends from Malaysian Golf Association (MGA)  =)

This is what you have to do :-

A. Answer the following questions :-

1. Who was the winner of the Maybank Malaysian Open in 2009 ?

2. Where and when will the Maybank Malaysian Open 2011 take place ?

3. Why do you want to win two (2) season  tickets to the Maybank Malaysian Open 2011? 

MGA's website : http://www.mgaonline.com.my/index.asp  (hint) 

B. After successfully answering the questions , there's one more thing you gotta do. In your facebook status, please share the following " I am @Malaysians for Sports ". Please remember to tag us and set your sharing status to "Everyone " .  We have illustrated the simple steps below. Important : You need to "like" our page first before you're able to tag us. 

Step 1 :

 Step 2 :

Once you've completed (A) and (B), send us your answers to msian4sports@gmail.com with the following details :-

Name : 
Phone number :
IC number :
Answers for question (1-3) :
Facebook account name (if different from actual name) : 


Closing date is Friday, 8th April before 5pm.  GOOD LUCK ! =)

PAST CHAMPIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN MAYBANK MALAYSIAN OPEN 2011

Noh Seung-yul aims to successfully defend his title

Kuala Lumpur, 31 March 2011 – Noh Seung-yul will back to defend the Maybank Malaysian Open title next month and will be joined by former champions, Anthony Kang, Thongchai Jaidee, Peter Hedblom and Alastair Forsyth come 14-17 April at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.

South Korea’s Noh became the youngest ever player to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit last season, at the age of 19 years and 204 days. The catalyst for this success was his win at last year’s edition of the Malaysian Open where, at the time, he became the second youngest golfer to claim a win on The European Tour. Noh’s 2011 season was on the up-and-up when he recently qualified for his first WGC- Accenture Match Play Championship as one of the top 64 players in the Official World Golf Ranking.

“The first time playing in Malaysia, I had to adjust to the scorching weather. This time around, I have prepared myself mentally and psychically to withstand the heat, in hopes to win the Maybank Malaysian Open title for the second time in my career. The first win for me was meaningful because I had the opportunity to not only win on Malaysian soil but also defeat an idol of mine, K.J Choi. This time around it’ll be for my parents who have dedicated their time to follow me to Malaysia,” said Noh.

Korean-American Anthony Kang, who triumphed in 2009, will be back to play in the 2011 edition. Kang ended an eight-year title drought with a birdie on the 72^nd hole two years ago. It was a third career victory which subsequently catapulted him to third on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. In 2010 he posted two Top 20 finishes to end the season in 13^th place on the Tour’s Order of Merit.

World renowned Thai golfer and former double Malaysian Open champion Thongchai Jaidee will lead the Asian challenge in the 156-strong field. Thongchai claimed three Asian Tour Order of Merit titles as well as 13 wins on the Tour alone. He became the only golfer to achieve this feat on the Asian Tour. He also became the first Thai to play in a Major at the 2001 US Open at Southern Hills where he tied for 74^th and subsequently became the first Thai to play in all four Majors. The 41 year old has four career European Tour titles to his name and in 2004 he became the first Thai golfer to win an event on The European Tour with his victory at the Malaysian Open. He successfully defended that title in 2005.

Aside from Thongchai, another veteran, Sweden’s Peter Hedblom has also confirmed participation. A member of The European Tour for over 20 years, the 41 year old picked up his first win at the 1996 Moroccan Open and went on to represent Sweden in the Dunhill Cup at St Andrews in that same year. In 2007 he took a huge leap forward  by claiming his second victory at the Malaysian Open after shooting a final round of 68 to come from a seven shot deficit. He continued his good form with three top ten finishes in 2008 and secured the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in the same year.

Scotland’s Alastair Forsyth is looking for his first European Tour win since his success in the Madeira Islands Open BPI in Portugal back in 2008. He came close to claiming a third Tour title, but eventually finished tied for second at the Estoril Open de Portugal in that same year. The 35 year old Scot’s first career title on The European Tour was obtained at the 2002 Malaysian Open.

Major winners Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer, who is currently ranked Number One on the Official World Golf Ranking, have also confirmed their participation. Oosthuizen and Kaymer will be joined by South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel and Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.

This year, the tournament reaches a milestone as it celebrates its 50th edition as some of the world’s best golfers gather to compete at the renowned Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club from the 14^th to 17^th April 2011.

 
Making history as the first ever co-sanctioned tournament in Asia by both the European and Asian Tours in 1999, the Maybank Malaysian Open 2011 will feature top players from the rankings of both these world-leading circuits to make up the 156-player line-up.

Points earned at the Maybank Malaysian Open 2011 will go towards the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and will also add to the player’s 2011 Race to Dubai Ranking, granting them a chance to qualify for the season-ending Dubai World Championship.

A star-studded field is expected at the 50th edition of the Maybank Malaysian Open, with the Malaysian professionals competing with some of the world’s best players for the championship title. With a USD 2.5 million prize purse up on offer, spectators can expect an exciting tournament this April. The four-day co-sanctioned event will take place at the West Course of the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club from 14th - 17th April 2011.

Blazing the lanes - An interview with Sidney Tung

We had the opportunity to catch up with Mr. Sidney Tung, the Secretary General of Malaysian TenPin Bowling Congress (MTBC) - one of the longest serving and dedicated officials in Malaysian Sports today. Hear what he has to say...

JY :   How did you first get involved in bowling?

ST:   I started bowling as a social bowler with a group of friends. After a few months, I got hooked to the game as I saw improvement week after week. Since then, became a crazy bowler bowling 6 times a week !  I started taking part in some local tournaments and had myself involved in organizing  events with some bowling centers.

In 1976, together with my team-mates who bowled almost every night together, founded the Kuala Lumpur Tenpin Bowling Federation.  We did very well as the best state association for Tenpin Bowling those days as we became the first state affiliate of MTBC to circulate a monthly news letter, and sending bowlers to represent the state in nearby Asean tournaments (ie Thai Open, Singapore Open and Indonesia Open etc.)  I was called up by MTBC to become Assistant Secretary in 1978, and took on the post as Secretary General since 1980 till today. 

JY  :  You've contributed a lot to the sports particularly with your involvement with MTBC . What's your motivation/inspiration for doing so till today?

ST :  The love in the sport of Tenpin Bowling is the major motivation and inspiration of my involvement with the sport until today. The satisfaction of seeing the success of our national bowlers in international events is ever rewarding for all the work and effort put in. It is beyond words when you see how our bowlers fight for honours in major tournaments, the celebration with tears after winnings and hearing the Negara Ku being  played. 

JY  :  There's been criticism that sports officials hold on to their position for too long. What's your view on that? Do you agree that there should be a fixed term for sports officials?

ST :  A sport  official serving an association is to ensure the particular sport is well regulated, well managed and well promoted with good results and money well spent. If an official is capable of fulfilling all these, and the sport is gaining in popularity and achievements, is there a need to change the official? Do we need to change an official just for the sake of change. On the other hand, if an official is not performing and the association is not managed well, then there needs to be change to see better things. 

JY  :  MTBC is one of the most successfully run association in the country, in your opinion why is it so? 

ST : In my opinion, again it is the love in the sport. The fully committed officials/volunteers are all heavily involved in a sport that they love wholeheartedly without any political or personal agendas. The leadership of Dato Dr. PS Nathan who himself was a great bowler, has great knowledge of the game and a great administrator, is the main key to the successful running of MTBC.

JY  :   MTBC has consistently produced world-class bowlers, why / how is it so?

ST :  Any sport must have a sound and solid development program to lead to success. MTBC put in place an 8-years nationwide development program in early 90s with the support of NSC to bring Tenpin Bowling in Malaysia to world standards. We achieved our target in 2003 when we won both the Men and Women’s Titles in the World Tenpin Team Cup in Odense,  Denmark, and in the same year won the Women’s Team Gold in the World Championship.  All members in the winning teams came from the development program which is still in existence and our source of new talent surfacing.

JY  :   Lately the NSC has decided to cut budget to sports associations across the board, how will this affect MTBC?

ST :  The decision to cut the budget for all sports associations by NSC will definitely affect the development of the sports.  Bowling is no different. But MTBC is in a process of finalizing our program, and getting back to NSC to seek the best possible funding to carry on with our development programme to our best. Failing which we are hoping to get other sponsors to come in to help to continue the development programs. 

JY :   When you're not involve in bowling, how do you like to spend your time?

ST :  Reading, surfing internet and spending time with my family, especially my grand- daughter.

JY :     Your outlook for the future of bowling in Malaysia?

ST :  With the Professional bowlers eligible to bowl in all tournaments, and the improvement from many other countries, it will be difficult for Malaysia to repeat their achievements as we did in the past.  The cutting of fund by NSC will make it more difficult to repeat our performance. We need to work very hard to ensure the best we can achieve with the limited resources.

JY :    Your advise on aspiring bowlers? 

ST :   Put more effort in strengthening oneself physically and technically, and to give nothing short of their  best  in every tournament they participate

JY :   Any last words? 

ST :    

Tenpin Bowling is one of the very few Sports that already reached world level. The government should work together with OCM to try and lobby for Tenpin Bowling to be included in the Olympic Games

Tenpin Bowling is one of the top Sports in the country,  it is a family game and is recognized by the government. All bowling equipments and bowling balls imported are tax free. But sadly the state governments are still demanding an entertainment fee to be paid annually for all bowling centers in the country. I brought this up with the previous few Sport Ministers, who promised to look into that, but no action has been done. This has to be looked into and the entertainment tax removed so that bowling centre owners can assist the game progress further.

 - interviewed by Jerome Yan

For the Glory of the Nation or Personal Fame ???

Was browsing through facebook lately and bumped into facebook pages belonging to some national backup players. Can't seem to understand why on earth do these guys own a facebook page ! Call me old-fashioned or cynical but I think these guys should instead focus their energies on producing results consistently in the international scenes (instead of crashing out in the early rounds usually) before they think of starting a facebook page.

In my view, you gotta "earn the right to portray yourself as a personality". Not that I'm against athletes having personal facebook pages, just that if you do, please have substance to back up your ego. Once you start achieving and producing results consistently , the fans will follow.  Period !

Yummy ! Champ League Quarters 2011

Which match you're looking forward to the most? Any potential upsets in the cards? =)

Quarter-finals: 1st League (April 5 & 6) , 2nd League (April 12 & April 13 )

World-class line-up for the 6th CIMB KL Open Squash Championships 2011

Press Release 
16/3/2011

Kuala Lumpur: CIMB today announced its title sponsorship of the CIMB KL Open Squash Championships 2011 for the sixth consecutive year. Taking place from 15 March to 20 March 2011, the tournament boasts a world-class line-up and promises exciting action for all squash fans, both from Malaysia and abroad.


To mark the sponsorship of the event, Dato’ Mohd Shukri Hussin, Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Foundation, presented a mock cheque to Dato’ Syed Mustaffa Syed Ali, President of Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) and Organising Chairman of CIMB KL Open, witnessed by Dato’ Charon Wardini Mokhzani, Deputy CEO, Corporate & Investment Banking, CIMB Group, and Dato’ Zolkples Embong, Director-General of The National Sports Council of Malaysia (NSC).

Dato’ Mohd Shukri Hussin, Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Foundation handing over the title sponsor mock cheque to  Dato’ Syed Mustaffa Syed Ali, President of Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM). Witnessing the handover were Dato’ Charon Wardini Mokhzani, Deputy CEO, Corporate & Investment Banking, CIMB Group, and Dato’ Zolkples Embong, Director-General of The National Sports Council of Malaysia. 

“A top-notch championship such as the CIMB KL Open is very important as a good run at the championship provides our local budding players an opportunity to gain valuable world ranking points. We are pleased to have the support from CIMB to make this tournament a world-class sporting event,” said Dato’ Syed. 

Reiterating Dato’ Syed’s message, Dato’ Shukri added that CIMB is indeed proud to maintain its title sponsorship of this tournament that has not only gained international recognition, but it is also serving exceedingly well as a platform for the advancement of squash in Malaysia.

Fans can again expect to be captivated and inspired by the skill, determination and sheer talent of athletes at the top of their game. In the Women’s event, it will be a battle among the world’s best as 12 out of the top 13 women players in the world will be vying for the title.

Leading the pack as the defending champion and World No. 1 is our very own Dato’ Nicol David, who will be facing stiff competition from rivals Jenny Duncalf (World No. 2 from England) and Rachel Grinham (World No. 3 from Australia). Also in the Main Draw is Laura Massaro (World No. 8 from England) who is hoping to repeat her victory of defeating Dato’ Nicol earlier this year, ending Dato’ Nicol’s unbeaten 14-month winning streak. Malaysia’s fast rising star, Low Wee Wern (World No. 13) also makes the Main Draw on her own merit. Other Malaysians starting in the qualifying round are Delia Arnold (World No. 20) and Siti Munirah Jusoh (World No. 44). This star-studded line-up makes it almost equivalent to a World Women’s Championship.

In the Men’s event, former World No. 1 and current World No. 3, Karim Darwish, is back to avenge his defeat in the finals last year, but he will first have to fend off competition from former two-time World Junior Champion and current World No. 9, Mohamed El Shorbagy, who is seeded No. 2 in this championship. The Main Draw will also feature three Malaysians, namely Mohd Azlan Iskandar (World No. 10), Ong Beng Hee (World No. 23), and wildcard Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (World No. 47).

As with previous years, the preliminary rounds will be held at the National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil. Quarterfinals onwards will be staged in a glass court mounted at the concourse area of Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur.

CIMB KL Open remains a highly rated Women’s International Squash Players Association (WISPA) Gold-45 for the Women’s event with total prize money of US$53,500, while the Men’s event is a Professional Squash Association (PSA) International 50 with total prize money of US$50,000.

In conjunction with the title sponsorship announcement, CIMB Foundation, SRAM and the NSC also inked an agreement renewing CIMB Foundation’s commitment as Rakan Sukan Squash. This covers title sponsorship of the KL and Malaysian Open, the CIMB Junior Squash Development Programme, and administrative expenses of SRAM.


To find out how YOU can win 2 Tickets to the Finals on Sunday, March 20th 2011. Click HERE 

Faces of Malaysian Sports 2010

Heartiest Congratulations to the winners of Anugerah Sukan Malaysia 2010.  You guys have made us proud and give us hope! Perhaps one minor thing that bothered me was our sports minister announcement that he is optimistic about achieving 4 gold medals at the 2012 London Olympic Games. To me this is unnecessary pressure on the athletes especially young diver Pandelela. 

The night however wasn't just about Nicol and Azizul Awang but also deserving winners as follows :-

Olahragawan Kebangsaan 
Azizulhasni Awang (Cycling)

Olahragawati Kebangsaan 
Nicol Ann David (Squash)

Pasukan Lelaki Kebangsaan 
Hockey 

Pasukan Wanita Kebangsaan 
Squash 

Olahragawan Paralimpik Kebangsaan 
Zul Amirul Sidi Abdullah (Swimming) 

Olahragawati Paralimpik Kebangsaan 
Nabilah Ahmat Sharif (Badminton) 

Jurulatih Lelaki Kebangsaan 
Stephen Van Huizen & Tai Beng Hai (Hockey) 

Anugerah Kepimpinan Kebangsaan 
Prof Datuk W Y Chin (Snooker & Billards) 

Anugerah Khas 
Datuk Lim Teong Kiat (Badminton) & Datuk Nashatar Singh Sidhu (Athletics)

*photo source from Bernama & The Star