Sports - The Malaysian Insider

Napoli coach happy for Higuain to stay grumpy

Gonzalo Higuain has led Napoli's challenge for their first Serie A title since 1990 with a remarkable 26 goals in 28 league games, yet the fiery Argentine does not seem to have enjoyed a single...

Loved-up Liverpool ready to give all for Klopp, says midfielder

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp's affection for his players pushes them to put every last drop of effort into their performances, past the point where fatigue has taken its toll, midfielder Adam...

F1 gets new qualifying format, Sepang race in October

The new Formula One season starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 20. The following details the major changes for 2O16: Qualifying Formula One's governing body has...

Under-pressure Chong Wei in All-England shock loss

Datuk Lee Chong Wei, the former world number who has been making a sensational comeback at the age of 33, suffered one of the biggest shocks of his career when he was dumped out in the first...

Obama recognises hijab-wearing US fencer

US President Barack Obama paid tribute yesterday to fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who in Rio will become the first US Olympian to compete wearing a hijab. Obama's visit to the Islamic Society of...

Brazil to deploy 38,000 military personnel for Olympics

Brazil's Defence Minister, Aldo Rebelo, announced yesterday 38,000 military personnel will be deployed to carry out security operations during the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. China's...

Ibrahimovic returns to haunt Chelsea as PSG advance

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winner as Paris St Germain beat Chelsea 2-1 to knock them out of the Champions League for the second successive season at Stamford Bridge yesterday. PSG's victory...

Phelps preps for Rio with new appreciation of Olympic past

With his chance for a last burst of Games glory at Rio just months away, Michael Phelps says he's finally come to appreciate what he's accomplished in an already extraordinary Olympic...

JDT unbeaten in AFC Cup run

Defending AFC Cup champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) continued their impressive form in the competition after securing their second straight win in Group H by beating JSW Bengaluru FC from India...

Makeshift Benfica cling on to snatch late win at Zenit

Benfica, helped by an excellent Champions League debut from goalkeeper Ederson, clung on desperately then scored two late goals to beat Zenit St Petersburg 2-1 and reach the...

Chinese stars make winning All-England starts

World number one Chen Long and Olympic champion Lin Dan gave China an encouraging start to the first Super Series event of 2016 as each carefully overcame tricky hurdles to reach the second round...

490 possible meldonium cases at Baku Games, says report

Some 490 athletes, including 13 medallists, may have taken meldonium – the drug responsible for tennis star Maria Sharapova's failed dope test – at last year's European Games in Baku, according...

Russia says repeatedly warned athletes about Sharapova drug

Russia's athletics federation, facing exclusion from the Rio Olympics over previous doping scandals, said on Wednesday it had repeatedly warned athletes and coaches not to take meldonium, the...

Blatter ‘very surprised’ by search of French federation offices

Sepp Blatter told AFP on Wednesday he was "very surprised" that French authorities had seized documents from the country's football federation in connection with a Swiss criminal investigation in...

Premier League agrees to away ticket price freeze

Premier League clubs have agreed to freeze the price of away tickets for travelling supporters at "no more than £30 (RM175) for the next three seasons, officials announced on Wednesday. There...

FAM accepts Sarawak’s appeal to delay empty-stadium ban

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) disciplinary committee has agreed to defer the decision requiring Sarawak to play two matches behind closed doors. The disciplinary committee today...

Experts perplexed over why Sharapova was taking banned heart drug

The medicine Maria Sharapova says she has taken for 10 years due to a family history of heart issues and diabetes is an old drug sold in just a few Eastern European countries that can also boost...

United’s injured players will not be rushed back, says Van Gaal

Manchester United are expecting a host of injured players to make their returns this month but will not rush them back into the first-team, manager Louis van Gaal said ahead of Thursday's last-16...

Kremlin calls Sharapova’s doping failure an isolated case

The Kremlin on Wednesday expressed regret over the country's tennis star Maria Sharapova testing positive for a banned drug at the Australian Open but insisted this was an isolated case. "Of...

Russia running out of time for Rio, says anti-doping body

Athletics superpower Russia is running out of time to eradicate doping and may not be able to send a track and field team to this year's Rio Olympics, Dick Pound, chair of the World Anti-Doping...