Timesport takes a look at the major events that bring cheer, despair and shock to Malaysian sports this year.
JANUARY
l The national football team fall to Jordan (4-0) and Bahrain (1-0) but recover to hold mighty South Korea to a 3-3 draw in the group stage of the Asian Cup in Qatar. However, Harimau Malaya failed to reach the next stage.
l The national field hockey team miss out on qualifying for the Paris Olympics after ending up fifth in the qualifiers in Muscat. The Speedy Tigers fail to achieve their target of finishing in the top three.
l The national men's hockey fives squad, despite a limited budget, make a gallant run to the final of the Hockey5s World Cup in Muscat. They, however, lose 5-2 to the Netherlands in the title decider.
l Only one Malaysian diver, Bertrand Rhodict Lises, qualifies on merit for the Paris Olympics.
FEBRUARY
A depleted national badminton team — playing without Lee Zii Jia (sinus problem) and Ng Tze Yong (back injury) — go down 3-0 to China in the Asia Team Championships final in Shah Alam.
APRIL
l National women's squash player S. Sivasangari (pic) stuns Egypt's world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini in the quarter-finals, Belgium's world No. 4 Nele Gilis in the semi-finals and Egypt's world No. 2 Hania El Hammamy in the final to capture the London Classic title. The win propels her into the world top 10 for the first time in her career.
l National men's squash player, Ng Eain Yow, also dazzles, claiming his maiden World Tour title at the German Open.
l National diver Wendy Ng retires at the age of 31 after an illustrious career of almost two decades in the sport.
MAY
l National footballers Faisal Halim and Akhyar Rashid are viciously attacked by unknown assailants. Faisal is splashed with acid in Kuala Lumpur and suffers serious injuries to his neck, shoulder, hands and chest which required four surgeries. Akhyar was assaulted in Kuala Terengganu and suffered minor injuries to his head and legs. The unprecedented incidents shocked Malaysian football.
l The national sepak takraw squad leave fans in a state of disbelief when they upset traditional heavyweights Thailand in the final of the doubles and inter-regu categories at the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur. Thailand, however, beat Malaysia in the team final.
l Mixed doubles Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai become the first national shuttlers in six years to win a World Tour-level event on home soil after bagging the Malaysia Masters. However, Lee Zii Jia loses to Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in three games in the men's singles final.
l Tenpin bowler Sin Li Jane bags the PWBA Bowlers Journal Rockford Open and the PWBA Greater Nashville Classic.
JUNE
l Sin Li Jane becomes the first Malaysian to win the US Women's Open, which is her first PWBA major title.
l Malaysia win both the men's and women's squash titles at the Asian Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur.
l Faisal Halim speaks publicly at a press conference for the first time since becoming the victim of an acid attack.
l Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, makes clear his displeasure after the Malaysian Football League (MFL) fines Selangor FC RM100,000 for withdrawing from the Charity Shield following the acid attack on Faisal Halim. MFL subsequently reduces the fine to RM60,000.
l Promising squash players Harleein Tan, U. Thanussa and M. Nickhileswar win their respective categories at the Asian Junior Championships in Islamabad, Pakistan.
l Netizens criticise the design of the national contingent's attire for the Paris Olympics, calling it "ugly" and "cheap-looking". The Olympic Council of Malaysia subsequently changes to an improved version.
l The national men's tennis team suffer relegation in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group III competition in Jordan and will play in Group IV, the lowest tier, next year, for the first time.
JULY
l The national women's tennis team achieve a best-ever third-place in the Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania Group II competition in Kuala Lumpur.
l Selangor Red Giants create history by winning the prestigious MLBB Mid-Season Cup in Riyadh, pocketing a mouthwatering US$1 million (RM4.66 million) in prize money.
l Twenty-six Malaysian athletes — through a mix of qualification on merit, universality places and unused quotas — get to compete in the Paris Olympics.
AUGUST
l Malaysia win two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics through shuttlers Lee Zii Jia (men's singles) and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men's doubles). Cyclist Azizulhasni Awang's disqualification from the men's keirin first round leaves fans aghast.
SEPTEMBER
l Badminton men's doubles Goh Sze Fei-Izzuddin Rumsani leave the BA of Malaysia on Sept 1 to turn professional, just five days after winning the Japan Open.
l At the Paris Paralympics, Malaysia win two golds through Bonnie Bunyau Gustin and Cheah Liek Hou, two silvers through Ziyad Zolkefli and Latif Romly, and one bronze through Eddy Bernard.
l Sze Fei-Izzuddin win the China Open while Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei capture the Korea Open.
l Bowler Li Jane is named PWBA Player of the Year after winning four titles this season, two of them being majors.
l The national tenpin bowling squad achieve a record-breaking haul of 17 medals at the Asian Championships in Bangkok.
OCTOBER
l Sze Fei-Izzuddin continue their fine run by winning the Arctic Open.
NOVEMBER
l Aaron-Wooi Yik win the Korea Masters, their second career World Tour title.
DECEMBER
l Sze Fei-Izzuddin end their season on a high after finishing second at the World Tour Finals. Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also finished second in the mixed doubles event.
l BWF is criticised by fans and pundits for its new ruling which does not allow players to receive medical treatment during a game. Players are only allowed to receive treatment during breaks.
l Zii Jia suffers an ankle injury during his match against China's Li Shi Feng at the World Tour Finals, but cannot receive treatment. He concedes the match and leaves the court in a wheelchair.
l National pencak silat exponent, Thamaraj Vasudevan, wins the men's open category at the World Championships in Abu Dhabi, and enters the history books as the first Malaysian Indian to become world silat champion. The national squad capture a commendable six golds, nine silvers and four bronzes in Abu Dhabi.
OUTSTANDING ATHLETES
l Lee Zii Jia (badminton)
Zii Jia bagged two titles apart from an Olympic bronze this year. It was the first time he won more than one title in a season.
l Sin Li Jane (tenpin bowling)
Li Jane created history by becoming the first Asian to win the PWBA Tour Player of the Year title.
l Aniq Kasdan (weightlifting)
Aniq finished fourth in the under-61kg at the Paris Olympics and later won the Commonwealth Championships.
l Thamaraj Vasudevan (pencak silat)
Thamaraj claimed the men's open category two gold at the World Championships in Abu Dhabi. No Malaysian Indian had ever won a silat world title before.
OUTSTANDING PARA ATHLETES
l Bonnie Bunyau Gustin (para powerlifting)
Bonnie successfully defended his Paralympic gold (under-72kg) at the Paris Games, bettering his world record in the process. He also claimed gold at the World Cup in Dubai.
l Cheah Liek Hou (para badminton)
Liek Hou, 36, defied age to retain his singles SU5 gold at the Paris Paralympics.
l Ziyad Zolkefli (para athletics)
Ziyad won his third world title (shot put F20) at the Kobe World Championships and silver at the Paris Paralympics.
l Latif Romly (para athletics)
Latif clinched his fourth world title (long jump T20) at the Kobe World Championships and finished second in the Paris Paralympics.
l Eddy Bernard (para athletics)
Eddy, 23, had a breakthrough season, winning the men's 100m T44 silver at the Kobe World Championships and bronze at the Paris Paralympics.
OUTSTANDING PAIRS AND TEAMS
l Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (badminton)
Aaron-Wooi Yik finished runner-ups for the second time at the All England and also became the first Malaysian pair to win the Korea Masters. The duo also proved they are big match players after retaining their bronze at the Paris Olympics.
l Goh Sze Fei-Izzuddin Rumsani (badminton)
Sze Fei-Izzuddin had a slow start to the year, but reached the Asia Championships final in China before winning the Japan Open, China Open, Arctic Open and finishing second in the WTF.
l Farhan Adam, Syahir Rosdi and Azlan Alias (sepak takraw)
Farhan, Syahir and Azlan upstaged heavyweights Thailand in the World Cup inter-regu final in Kuala Lumpur.
l Aidil Aiman Azwawi-Noraizat Mohd Nordin (sepak takraw)
Aidil-Noraizat also stunned their fancied Thai counterparts in the World Cup men's doubles final.
l National tenpin bowling squad
Malaysia produced a record-breaking haul of eight golds, five silvers and bronzes at the Asian Championships in Bangkok.
l National silat squad
Malaysia claimed a remarkable six golds, nine silvers and four bronzes at the World Championships in Abu Dhabi.
l Selangor Red Giants (eSports)
SRG created history in becoming the first Malaysian side to win a major international MLBB title by emerging victorious at the Mid Season Cup and reaching the M6 World Championships final.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
l S. Sivasangari (squash)
Sivasangari had a breakthrough season which saw her winning the London Classic in April and breaking into the top-10 of the PSA rankings for the first time.
l Ng Eain Yow (squash)
Eain Yow also had a breakthrough season, claiming his maiden PSA World Tour title at the German Open. Both Eain Yow and Sivasangari are seen as medal prospects when squash makes its Olympic debut at Los Angeles in 2028.
l Shereen Samson Vallabouy (athletics)
Shereen broke her own national 400m record of 51.80s after clocking 51.79s in a competition in Nashville, Tennessee in June.
l Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli (athletics)
Zaidatul erased G. Shanti's 31-year-old national 100m record of 11.50s after clocking 11.49s at the Perlis Open.
MOST PROMISING ATHLETES
l Izzah Izzati Asri (track cycling)
Izzah, 20, claimed two golds, one silver and one bronze at the Asian Track Championships in New Delhi in February and broke her national 200m sprint record at the Paris Olympics.
l Mitsuki Leong (tennis)
Mitsuki, 20, started the year at No. 823 in the ATP rankings and worked his way to a career high No. 636 by November.
l Johan Ghazali Zulfikar (Muay Thai)
Though Johan, 18, suffered his first loss in the ONE Championship series (to Vietnam's Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat), he showed character to bounce back and knock out Mexican Josue Cruz in the first round.
l Hayden Haikal (motorsports)
Hayden, 20, underlined his natural talent by winning six titles in Touring Car championships in Malaysia and Thailand this year. He also marked his GT racing debut with a win in the Super Series in Thailand.
UNDERPERFORMERS
l Azizulhasni Awang (track cycling)
The former world keirin champion and two-time Olympic medallist was expected to challenge for gold at the Paris Olympics in what was to be his swansong. The Pocket Rocketman, however, was disqualified in the very first round of the keirin for overtaking the derny in what was an uncharacteristic mistake for the highly experienced 36-year-old.
l National diving squad
Only one Malaysian diver — Bertrand Rhodict Lises — earned direct qualification for the Paris Olympics, signalling a serious decline in the national team. This has led to Malaysia Aquatics and the National Sports Council implementing drastic changes in their diving programme.
l National hockey squad
The national team failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics after finishing fifth in the qualifiers in Oman where they needed a top-three placing. Malaysia have not qualified for the Olympics in the sport since Sydney 2000.
DEATHS
l Jugjet Singh
Legendary hockey journalist Jugjet Singh dedicated three decades to Timesport. Jugjet always wrote from the heart and never minced his words, but exuded a joie de vivre that endeared him to many.
l Allan Lee (tenpin bowling)
Allan Lee was a hugely successful tenpin bowler who was part of the bronze medal-winning trio at the 1986 Asian Games in South Korea. He also won a total of five Sea Games medals and played an important role in developing young talent as a coach.
l Azraai Khor (football)
Respected football coach Azraai Khor Abdullah guided Kedah to great success, winning the League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup titles. He also coached Harimau Muda.
l Dr Alex Delilkan (cricket)
Dr Alex captained the national cricket team from 1963-1972, and was also a successful doctor and academician.
l Datuk Yeoh Choo Hock (basketball)
A well-known basketball administrator, Choo Hock was Malaysian Basketball Association secretary-general for 17 years and was also its vice president for two years. He also served as FIBA Asia sec-gen for 14 years.
l Datuk Dr P.S. Nathan (tenpin bowling)
Nathan was a founding member of the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress. He helmed the association for roughly five decades and grew the sport exponentially in Malaysia. He was also a World Tenpin Bowling Association president for three terms.
l Khalid Ali (football)
Football legend Khalid played for the national team between 1977-1985 during which he helped Malaysia qualify for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He also won the Malaysia Cup with Selangor four times (1976, 1978, 1979, 1984)
l Moey Kok Hong (football)
Football great Kok Hong played for Malaysia in the 1998 Tiger Cup and also featured for the Malaysian XI against Arsenal at the National Stadium in a friendly in 1999. The former Penang skipper scored a goal as his team beat Selangor 2-1 to win the Premier League 1 trophy in 1998.
RETIREMENTS
l Syarul Azman Mahen Abdullah (bodybuilding)
Syarul retired from competitive bodybuilding in March at the age of 50 after a hugely successful career which saw him winning six world titles in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. He now coaches the national team.
l Chan Peng Soon (badminton)
Shuttler Peng Soon, 36, called time on his competitive career in May. The mixed doubles specialist won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics with Goh Liu Ying, and also won the 2010 Asian Championships with her. Peng Soon also won a total of three Commonwealth Games golds (all mixed team)
l Cheah Yee See (badminton)
Cheah Yee See had partnered Peng Soon and retired with him in May. Yee See, 29, was part of the 2021 Sudirman Cup bronze medal-winning team and also helped Malaysia win the mixed team gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
l Kimberly Bong (diving)
The former Sea Games gold medallist retired at the relatively young age of 22. She showed great promise as a junior, but her progress was hindered by multiple injuries.