2019, a year like no other
As the New Year approaches, it seems 2019 was more dramatic than many other years in recent memory. Here are the landmark moments of the year compiled by Timesport award-winning reporter Fabian Peter
JANUARY
— 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallists Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong and Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying resign as BA of Malaysia (BAM) players to turn pro.
— The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) strip Malaysia of the right to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships following the country’s failure in guaranteeing Israel’s participation.
FEBRUARY
— Ridzuan Puzi wins the 2018 Best Asian Male Para-Athlete in Dubai after breaking the world record in the men’s 100m T36 (cerebral palsy) and the Asian long jump record at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta.
— Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) kick off their season winning the Charity Shield by edging Perak 1-0 at Larkin Stadium.
— Terry Walsh steps down as Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) technical director after three years.
MARCH
— The national youth football squad fail to qualify for the 2020 AFC Under-23 Championship.
— Men’s doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik upset the odds to reach the final of the All England in Birmingham.
— An Najwa Azizan becomes the first Malaysian netball player to earn a contract outside the country by joining Australia’s Greater Western Sydney.
— Golfer Kelly Tan wins her first international title at the Natural Charity Classic in the United States.
APRIL
— Bowler Rafiq Ismail and rhythmic gymnast Amy Kwan win the 2018 National Sportsman and Sportswoman of Year awards.
— Bowlers Adrian Ang and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman achieve a sweet double at the Thailand Open in Bangkok
MAY
— The national badminton team crash out of the Sudirman Cup in China after losing 3-0 to Japan in the quarter-finals.
— Bowler Ahmad Muaz Fishol ends his three-year title drought by winning the Malaysian Open in Bandar Sunway.
— JDT record their first AFC Champions League win by shocking defending champions Kashima Antlers 1-0 at Larkin Stadium.
JUNE
— S. Suresh becomes Malaysia’s first-ever world champion in para archery.
— Datuk S.M. Muthu topples Datuk Karim Ibrahim to become the new president of the Malaysian Athletics Federation.
— Former World No 1 Lee Chong Wei hangs up his racquet due to cancer.
— Former world champion Nicol David retires after the end of the squash season.
— Tennis star Christian Didier Chin becomes the first Malaysian to win an ITF Futures title in three years by topping the doubles event at the Singapore Futures (Leg One).
— JDT retain their Super League crown, their sixth straight triumph, after beating Melaka 2-1 at Hang Jebat Stadium.
JULY
— Bonnie Bunyau Gustin defies the odds to bag two gold medals (boys’ below 65kg and men’s up to 65kg) at the World Para Powerlifting Championship in Kazakhstan.
— Pandelela Rinong-Leong Mun Yee earn Malaysia a Tokyo Olympic spot after winning the women’s 10m platform synchro silver at the World Aquatic Championships in South Korea.
— Wendy Ng earns an Olympic spot by reaching the final of the women’s 3m springboard event at the World Aquatic Championships in South Korea.
— Fadzrul Danel Nizam scores in extra time to help Kedah beat Perak 1-0 for the FA Cup crown at National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
— Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim steps down as chairman of the Malaysian Football League (MFL).
— Dr Wirdati Radzi replaces Datuk Zaiton Othman as the new Sports Commissioner.
AUGUST
— Malaysian shuttlers face loan shark woes with debts amounting to more than RM400,000.
— Brad Maloney’s national youth team upset Australia 1-0 to win the AFF Under-19 Championship in Vietnam.
— Rafiq Ismail and Sin Li Jane create history with a sweet double in the European Bowling Tour (EBT) Masters in Madrid.
SEPTEMBER
— National Under-19 striker Luqman Hakim Shamsudin earns a five-year contract with Belgian Division One A side KV Kortrijk.
— Footballer M. Chandran, who captained the 1972 Munich Olympic squad, dies. He was 77.
OCTOBER
— The national bowling squad surprisingly win six gold medals at the Asian Bowling Championships in Kuwait.
— Two-time world junior champion Goh Jin Wei decides to undergo colostomy surgery. She will only return to the sport in February.
— Farah Ann Abdul Hadi becomes the first Malaysian artistic gymnast to qualify for the Olympics after 20 years by finishing 16th in the individual all-around event at the World Championships in Germany.
— Azizulhasni Awang tops the sprint event at the Asian Track Cycling Championships in South Korea.
NOVEMBER
— Kevin Ramalingam quits as the chief executive officer of MFL.
— The national hockey team fail to qualify for the Olympics after losing 9-3 on aggregate to Britain.
— The national Under-19 side top the qualifiers in Cambodia to qualify for next year’s AFC Championship in Uzbekistan.
— The national football team end their season on a high with a 2-0 success over Indonesia in Bukit Jalil in a pre-World Cup match.
— Safawi Rasid confirms his status as Malaysia’s new football star by ending the season as the country’s top scorer with six international goals.
— JDT complete their season with the Malaysia Cup crown after thrashing Kedah 3-0 in the final in Bukit Jalil.
DECEMBER
— The national badminton squad win the Sea Games overall title with three gold through Lee Zii Jia (men’s singles), S.Kisona (women’s singles) and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles) in Manila.
— Haiqal Hanafi upset top Sea Games sprinters to top the men’s 100m final by clocking 10.35s in Clark.
— The national Under-22 football team suffer embarrassing defeats to the Philippines (1-0) and Cambodia (3-1) in the Sea Games in Manila.
— The Sea Games contingent fail to achieve their 70-gold target by winning only 56 gold in the Philippines.
— The FA of Malaysia (FAM) decide not to renew the contract of national Under-22 coach Ong Kim Swee.
— Cyclist Azizulhasni Awang beats big guns to win the keirin gold in the New Zealand-leg of the World Cup in Cambridge.
Source: NST
