Sports Minutes with Zia-ul Raushan

From Shanti Pereira's heroics, to Scuderia Ferrari's triumph in the Lion City....from Angela Lee's emotional retirement and fight against mental health, to Safuwan Baharudin's return from the wilderness to represent Singapore...from Cristiano Ronaldo blazing a trail in Saudi football, to Lionel Messi's swansong in Europe...2023 delivered on so many fronts! What was your favourite sporting moment?...

Liverpool dropped their first home points of the Premier League season as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Manchester United and the Reds' captain Virgil van Dijk felt "only one team tried to win" - a comment that pundit and former Red Devil skipper Roy Keane, felt smacked of arrogance. Was it arrogance or was it frustration? You be the judge! Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph....

With the 2023 domestic football season wrapping up in Singapore, we are joined by Deepanraj Ganesan, sports reporter with The Straits Times, to review the highs and the lows of 2023. We also look ahead to 2024 and what we can expect. Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg |  raushan@sph.com.sg   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Manchester United's defeat to Bayern Munich at Old Trafford leaves them out of the Champions League and out of Europe after finishing bottom of their group. Even more worryingly, the problems at the club appear no nearer to being solved under Erik ten Hag. So where to from here for the once mighty Manchester United? Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg |  raushan@sph.com.s...

With Chelsea and Manchester United both flattering to deceive, we discuss how two of the Premier League's most successful clubs, who have each reached three Champions League finals in the past 15 years, have become the definition of dysfunction. And which manager is leading the sack race? Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg |  raushan@sph.com.sg   See omnystudio.com/liste...

As the 2023 F1 season came to a close, we look back on the campaign that was dominated by Max Verstappen - who clinched 19 of 23 race wins to seal an emphatic third world title. F1 Analyst Matthew Marsh is in the hot seat to give us his hot takes, including his pick on best & worst in class for the year. Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg |  raushan@sph.com.sg   See...

The Premier League resumed after the FINAL international break of the year, and boy was it worth the wait! From Arsenal going top, to City and Liverpool dropping points. Spurs doing spurs things, and Garnacho doing Rooney things, the weekend had it all! Tune in as we recap what went down! Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg |  raushan@sph.com.sg   See omnystudio.com/liste...

We delve deep into the world of pro-boxing with First Drop Pro Fight, a Taiwan-based management company - as brand ambassador Sam Kao shares insights into pushing boundaries in boxing, comparing training in Taiwan and Singapore, and assessing the local boxing standard. Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg |  raushan@sph.com.sg   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

Business man by day, boxer by night? What are the similarities between the two seemingly different aspects of one's life - and what lessons can we take from one to another? Ahead of the 3rd edition of The Ring White Collar Boxing Show - Ruchdi Hajjar, co-founder of The Ring Boxing Community and founding partner of SGMC Capital, joins us to tell us more. Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! e...

Despite the strong turnout of close to 30,000 fans at the Singapore Sports Hub - Singapore's 3-1 defeat to Thailand means two defeats in two WCQ matches has left the Lions with the proverbial mountain to climb on the qualification front. And that has raised questions (once again) about Takayuki Nishigaya. Is he the right man to be in the hot seat? Deepanraj Ganesan, sports reporter with The Strait...

The Singapore Slingers, the only professional basketball club in the city-state, are being thrown into uncertainty. This comes after they announced in a media statement that the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) - the league in which the Slingers have played in since 2009 - is unlikely to play in the foreseeable future. Why has it come to this, and where to from here? Delvin Goh, a player with the Sin...

With 109 caps for Singapore and counting, Safuwan Baharudin is a household name in the local game. But having had to miss out on being a part of the National Team after he was not cleared by the Football Association of Singapore’s (FAS) medical team following successive head injuries - the 32-year old has made a return to the fold with a point to prove. What are his motivations, aims and ambitions...

Could we see a Singaporean in Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport, very soon? We certainly could, with 17-year old Christian Ho blazing a trail in the Spanish F4 Championship, and soon set to make the step up to Eurocup-3 series with Campos Racing. We catch up with the man himself on his 2023 exploits, and what the future holds! READ MORE: https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/singaporean-teen-chri...

The highly anticipated 2023 Singapore Squash Open, which returns to the Lion City after its resounding success last year, will feature 48 of the world’s top squash athletes vying for a combined prize purse of US$220,000,  This tournament marks one of the first major competitions since squash was officially included in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.  World No.1 Ali Farag & Singapore squash...

Football took centre stage (thankfully!), as Chelsea and City player out an 8-goal thriller. But with VAR still being debated across the grounds, Elliott caught up with Gary Neville - who was in Singapore this past weekend! Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg |  raushan@sph.com.sg     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you think football fashion, who is the first footballer that springs to mind? Be it flamboyant hairstyles or outlandish outfits, Elliott and Raushan take a trip down memory lane uncovering some head turners in the beautiful game! Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg |  raushan@sph.com.sg   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Described by her peers and coaches as ‘Champagne Charmaine’, Charmaine Soh has 128 appearances for the Singapore Netball team and FOUR gold medals to boot. Having represented the nation for more than a decade, the 33-year old recently announced her retirement from the sport - after clinching the Nations Cup on home soil. She sat down to look back on her stellar career, and look ahead to what the f...

The Singapore national football team has been buoyed by the timely return of Safuwan Baharudin and Ikhsan Fandi - after both were named in the Lions' 24-man squad by Takayuki Nishigaya for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers second round fixtures against South Korea and Thailand. Having last played for the national team in June 2022, Safuwan has had to miss out due to concerns over medical clearance...

VAR continued to take centre stage, as the London Derby won 4-1 by Chelsea against Tottenham - was marred by yet more controversy. The use of technology was required on NINE occasions in the first half alone! With the men in the middle facing severe scrutiny, we check in with Spurs boss Ange Postecoglu, pundit Gary Neville and Arsenal fan Eddy Hirono on this one! Got a story to tell? Get in touch...

Arsenal said they "wholeheartedly support" manager Mikel Arteta after he criticised the officiating in Saturday's Premier League defeat by Newcastle United. The Magpies goal was allowed to stand after VAR took several minutes to check if the ball went out of play, whether there was a foul in the build-up and for offside as Arsenal fell to their first league defeat of the season. Do the Gunners hav...

This is the inspiring story of 66-year old Xanthe Khatoon, a cancer survivor who overcame adversity to complete TWO marathons. And she's only getting started! We speak to Xanthe to learn more about journey through adversity, her mindset and her motivations. READ MORE: https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/cancer-survivor-66-overcomes-obstacles-to-complete-5km-at-great-eastern-women-s-run Got a story...

Despite celebrating the highs of Joseph Schooling and Shanti Pereira in recent years, Singapore's sporting culture remains questionable. How then can we aspire to create a healthy eco-system to let budding athletes flourish?  Soh Rui Yong, Singaporean national long-distance runner and holder of six national records, joins us from the United Kingdom to tell us more. READ MORE: https://www.straitsti...

With the likes of Perry Ng and Luke O'Nien - two footballers plying their trade in the English Championship declaring their interest in swapping their British citizenship to become Singaporeans - we wonder: Is naturalisation and the enrolment of heritage players into the Singapore football team the best way to give the local game a shot in the arm? Would Perry and Luke be considered true blue Sing...

For the eighth (and possibly the last time) Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or award - pipping competition from Manchester City’s treble-winners, namely one Erling Haaland. An inevitable result after he inspired Argentina to their first World Cup since 1986, or a complete farce - overlooking merit - to give one of the football's greatest players a(nother) fairytale farewell? Elliott and Raushan are...

If last season offered hope Manchester United were making forward strides under the management of Erik ten Hag, then this campaign is starting to resemble a dismal and rapid retreat. 3-0 losers to neighbours City, the Dutchman's second season is going from bad to worst - a familiar fate suffered by his predecessors. We discuss and dissect the fallout from Derby day! Got a story to tell? Get in tou...