a sporty weekend

IT has been a rather sporty weekend in Malaysia.

From Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's intention of having Manchester United over to our hockey lads qualifying to the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final after a lapse of 22 years, it has all been about sports, sports and more sports.

Here are some of the highlights of the week in short;

1. FIFA and AFC lambasted Manchester United and Chelsea for the post season tours during the summer break as it clashes with the Asian Cup. Nevertheless, after much outcry from the Malaysian public, the FA of Malaysia will be working on a solution to get the Red Devils and Le Blues on our soil.

2. After a lapse of 22 years, the Malaysian hockey side, under the guidance of coach Sarjit Singh made it to the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Tournament. Nevertheless, their route to a memorable finish ended after a 3-1 defeat to Australia. Coming in second still gave hockey fans something to cheer about in a long time.

3. The Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM) will be sending more players abroad after a rather dissapointing run in the Junior Fed Cup Asia/Oceania qualifiers at the National Tennis Stadium. Malaysia came in 14th after losing to New Zealand. Thailand meanwhile won the final after beating the Australian juniors 2-1.

4. Singapore obtains the hosting rights for the F1 GP, thus leaving Sepang International Circuit on a rather rocky situation. Nevertheless, SIC chairperson Mokhzani Mahathir is not too preturbed over the scenario adding more advertising will be done to pull in the crowd.

5. Lee Chong Wei added another silverware after winning the Indonesian Open beating China's Bao Chunlai 21-16, 21-15. The meet also saw Malaysian duo Zakry Latiff and Fairuzizuan losing to World Number 1 pair China's Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng in the doubles final. Apparently the reporting of the event by TV3 caused an uproar to several viewers. An email sent to TV3 and the Olympic Council of Malaysia was obtained by creamcrackers.

"To whom it may concern,

This email is with regards to your sports news aired during Bulletin Utama yesterday (May 12) and today (May 13).

I am baffled by the reporting of your sports crew with regards to the creditable run by the new Malaysian pair of Zakry Latif and Fairuzizuan Tazari.

What caught me off guard is the constant usage of the phrase 'anak Melayu' used by tv station. Does the sports team at TV3 really think that the Malays in this country are threathen by the winnings of their non-Malay teammates that they need to publically annouce that a MALAY pair had done well?

This is another clear example that even after 50 years of independance, we are still not 'Malaysians' after all.

Yours truly,

Dr Patrick Lim"

6. Finally, three national shooters failed a dope test, one being a Beijing Olympic bound shooter.

-The Man Who Sold The World-