Zakry-Fairuzizuan kembali pamer taring

ZAKRY (depan) dan Fairuzizuan muncul juara Kejohanan Badminton GP Emas 

Terbuka Taiwan 2012 semalam.

BEREGU lelaki negara, Mohd. Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd. Fairuzizuan Mohd. Tazari membuktikan bahawa gandingan mereka masih relevan.

Semalam, pasangan itu merangkul gelaran juara pada Kejohanan Badminton Grand Prix (GP) Emas Terbuka Taiwan 2012.

Zakry-Fairuzizuan yang bernaung di bawah Kelab Raket Kuala Lumpur (KL- RC) mencipta kejutan apabila menewaskan pilihan pertama, Angga Pratama Ryan Agung Saputra dari Indonesia pada aksi final semalam.

Zakry-Fairuzizuan hanya mengambil masa selama 27 minit bagi menewaskan pasangan Indonesia itu 21-12, 21-14.

Sebagai rekod, ia merupakan kejuaraan pertama yang dirangkul Zakry-Fairuzizuan tahun ini.

Sebelum ini, pencapaian terbaik mereka adalah muncul naib juara pada GP Emas Terbuka Thailand, Jun lalu.

"Alhamdulillah, kami (Zakry-Fairuzizuan) berjaya muncul selaku juara kali ini. Memang sangat gembira dengan kejayaan ini.

"Selepas setahun kami kembali bergandingan, ini merupakan pencapaian terbaik kami.

"Sebelum ini, pada Terbuka Thailand kami sekadar muncul naib juara sahaja.

"Saya harap, kami dapat mengekalkan konsistensi ini untuk menghadapi kejohanan-kejohanan akan datang," kata Zakry.

Sementara itu, dalam acara perseorangan lelaki, pemain Vietnam, Nguyen Tien Minh yang diletakkan sebagai pilihan kedua muncul juara selepas mencatatkan kemenangan ke atas Chou Tien Chen dari Taiwan 21-11, 21- 17.

Pemain Taiwan, Tai Tzu Ying yang diletakkan sebagai pilihan pertama menepati ramalan apabila mengungguli saingan dalam acara perseorangan wanita hasil kemenangan ke atas Lindaweni Fanetri dari Indonesia 21-19, 20-22, 22-20 pada aksi final semalam.

Gelaran juara dalam acara beregu wanita menjadi milik pasangan Indonesia, Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth-Rizki Amelia Pradipta yang mencipta kejutan menewaskan rakan senegara selaku pilihan keempat, Suci Rizky Andini-Della Destiara Haris 21- 15, 21-12.

Beregu campuran Indonesia, Muhammad Rijal-Debby Susanto turut cemerlang apabila menundukkan cabaran pasangan Hong Kong, Lee Chun Hei-Chau Hoi Wah 21-14, 21-14 untuk mengesahkan status selaku juara.

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Genderuwa suami hantu kopek

GENDERUWA dikatakan memiliki fizikal yang besar, berbulu 

dan berwarna hitam.

TANAH Jawa, Indonesia dikatakan satu-satunya lokasi untuk menemui makhluk halus yang dikenali sebagai genderuwa. Dalam bahasa masyarakat Sunda, ia dipanggil genderuwo.

Menurut catatan orang tempatan, makhluk tersebut merupakan jelmaan jin yang terdapat di kawasan Slogohimo dan Wonogiri, Jawa Tengah serta Kulon Progo di Jogjakarta, Indonesia.

Ia gemar mendiami kawasan sunyi terutamanya tempat berbatu dan berair, pokok besar, bangunan lama dan tempat yang jauh daripada manusia.

Fizikal makhluk ini sering diterjemah seperti manusia atau monyet tetapi saiznya lebih besar, memiliki kulit berwarna hitam kemerahan dan badannya ditumbuhi bulu.

Sering menjadi bahan cerita orang tua untuk menakutkan kanak-kanak dan anak gadis agar mendengar kata di Jawa, genderuwa juga dikatakan boleh berubah rupa.

Selain itu, sesetengah rakyat Indonesia percaya genderuwa merupakan jelmaan orang yang mati yang mayatnya tidak diuruskan dengan sempurna.

Penulis kisah misteri Indonesia, R. P. Suyono dalam bukunya yang berjudul Dunia Mistik Orang Jawa menjelaskan bahawa genderuwa memiliki sifat yang boleh menampakkan diri dalam pelbagai bentuk.

Pada waktu siang makhluk tersebut boleh menonjolkan dirinya seperti ular, buaya, burung pemangsa atau haiwan ganas lain yang sering ditakuti manusia.

“Pada malam hari pula genderuwa boleh berubah menjadi seperti lelaki dan menganggu wanita yang suka berjalan sendirian di kawasan sunyi,” ujar Suyono mengenai makhluk kepercayaan agama Hindu dan Buddha itu.

Genderuwa terkenal dengan sifatnya yang gemar menganggu manusia. Masyarakat Jawa percaya bahawa apabila kedengaran seperti sesuatu dicampakkan di atas bumbung rumah, itu adalah angkara genderuwa.

“Makhluk itu memang suka mengganggu manusia dengan cara melempar batu ke atap rumah penduduk kampung atau meludah pada orang dan haiwan dengan air liur sirih.

Isteri

“Orang Jawa percaya apabila lampu yang terpadam dan hidup kembali juga merupakan kerja genderuwa. Ia turut mengetuk dan menggoncang pintu dan tingkap rumah penduduk,” katanya lagi.

Biarpun menurut Suyono bahawa genderuwa tidak merbahaya dan sekadar muncul untuk menganggu ketenteraman manusia, namun makhluk tersebut boleh menyebabkan kematian.

Dipercayai bahawa mereka yang terserempak dengan genderuwa akan terkejut kerana ketakutan sehingga akhirnya menemui ajal.

Tambahnya juga, genderuwa mempunyai isteri yang dikenali sebagai wewe gombel. Ia digambarkan sebagai makhluk yang berupa orang tua yang menakutkan.

“Badan wewe kurus dan kerepot. Buah dadanya panjang dan tergantung hingga mencecah lantai. Makhluk itu mencari kanak-kanak pada waktu senja dan disembunyikan di bawah dadanya,” jelas Suyono mengenai makhluk yang mempunyai sifat sama dengan hantu kopek yang popular di negara ini.

Menurut versi cerita masyarakat tempatan, genderuwa merupakan lembaga yang memiliki nafsu seksual yang tinggi.

Ia boleh menyamar sebagai suami kepada seorang wanita yang ingin ditidurinya dan melakukan hubungan intim dengan wanita tersebut.

Dikhabarkan genderuwa juga boleh menyebabkan seseorang wanita yang kesepian hamil apabila bersekedudukan dengannya.

“Ia sering mencari wanita kesepian untuk bersama,” kata seorang penduduk di Kebumen, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia, Didik Budi.

“Genderuwa berupaya menarik wanita untuk melakukan seks dengannya. Menurut cerita, makhluk itu boleh memberikan kepuasan yang lebih kepada wanita terbabit.

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Schuey to retire from F1 again

SUZUKA: Michael Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula One for the second time and at the age of 43 on Thursday after failing to rekindle his old Ferrari magic in a disappointing comeback with Mercedes.

The team had already announced last week that the seven-times world champion, winner of a record 91 races in a career that started in 1991, would be replaced by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton for the start of the 2013 campaign.

Michael Schumacher

Schumacher told reporters, packed into the confined space of the tented Mercedes hospitality at the Suzuka circuit ahead of Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix, that his decision came as a relief.

"I have decided to retire by the end of the year, although I am still able and capable to compete with the best drivers that are around," he declared, reading from a statement.

"But at some point, it is good to say goodbye. And that is what I am doing here... and it might this time even be forever," he smiled.

Schumacher's first retirement came at the end of 2006, after he had won five titles in a row with Ferrari from 2000 and two with Benetton in 1994 and 1995.

That departure proved premature, with the most successful driver in the 62-year history of the sport unable to resist the allure of a return with Mercedes when the Stuttgart-based manufacturer bought the title-winning Brawn GP team in 2009.

The move reunited him with friend and former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn, now the team principal, but together they were unable to roll back the years and regain the heights of old.

Schumacher has been on the podium only once in his last three seasons, a third place in Valencia this year, and has retired from half of the 14 races so far in 2012. His last win was with Ferrari in China in 2006.

The veteran has also had some embarrassing crashes, including one in Singapore that had even loyal German followers questioning his eyesight and means he will have a 10-place penalty on the starting grid for Suzuka.

Schumacher, his voice occasionally cracking slightly with emotion as he spoke in front of a crescent of television cameras, said he now wanted to enjoy his last six races.

The German was given a standing ovation after concluding his statement.
 -Reuters

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Hamilton to replace Schumacher at Mercedes

(Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton signed up for a fresh start with Mercedes on Friday in a deal that 

likely ended Michael Schumacher's Formula One comeback and catapulted Mexican 

Sergio Perez into the driving seat at McLaren.

After a season-long saga for his signature, Britain's 2008 world champion finally opted to cut the umbilical cord with McLaren and leave his first paddock 'home' in what could be the gamble of his career.

The 27-year-old will replace 43-year-old Schumacher from 2013 at Mercedes, winners in China this year but otherwise largely off the pace, after agreeing a lucrative three-year deal announced on Friday.

McLaren, getting their news in first, announced separately that Perez would partner 2009 champion Jenson Button in their lineup next season with both drivers guaranteed equal treatment.

Martin Whitmarsh, principal of the title-chasing Woking team, said Hamilton had been offered a hefty financial incentive to stay at McLaren but terms could still not be agreed.

"We made a very, very big financial offer, bigger than I believe any Formula One driver is enjoying today," he told reporters.

British media reports suggested the contract with Mercedes, McLaren's former co-owners, could be worth 60 million pounds with Hamilton in line for a basic annual salary of around 15 million.

Sports marketing experts predicted the deal, negotiated by XIX Entertainment who also manage the affairs of former England soccer captain David Beckham and U.S. Open winning tennis player Andy Murray, would transform Hamilton's global profile.

"Mercedes are a far bigger brand than McLaren globally," said Joel Seymour-Hyde of sports marketing agency Octagon. "The opportunities for him to have the Lewis Hamilton brand exposed and to become a figurehead for the company are that much greater," he added.

FRESH CHALLENGE

McLaren and Mercedes have backed the Briton since his early teens when he was making an impression in karting, after Hamilton had approached former McLaren principal Ron Dennis at a gala awards ceremony to tell him of his dream of driving one of his cars in Formula One.

The first black Formula One world champion, whose humble origins as the grandson of Grenadian immigrants to Britain contrasts with the Monaco lifestyle he now enjoys, has never driven for anyone else but said it was time for a fresh challenge.

"Mercedes-Benz has such an incredible heritage in motorsport, along with a passion for winning which I share," said the winner of 20 grands prix including three so far this season.

"Together, we can grow and rise to this new challenge. I believe that I can help steer the Silver Arrows to the top and achieve our joint ambitions of winning the world championships."

The move to Mercedes came after the German manufacturer signed a new agreement with the sport's commercial rights holders, guaranteeing their long-term commitment. They were the last of the major teams to do so.

There was no word on Schumacher's future plans, with the German widely expected to retire for the second time after making a comeback in 2010, three years on from his 2006 farewell to Ferrari.

"I have had three nice years with the team which unfortunately did not go as well as we all would have wanted on the sporting side," Schumacher, who could remain with Mercedes in an official capacity, said in a statement.

"I wish Lewis well and for the team to achieve the success we worked so hard for in the build-up. I would like to thank the team for their trust and all the guys for their unconditional commitment. I will now concentrate on the next races."

There are six rounds remaining but Schumacher will have a 10 place penalty on the starting grid for Japan, next week, after crashing into Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso in Singapore.

"He has no reason for any regret even though his comeback did not go as he would have liked," commented triple champion Niki Lauda, who will join the Mercedes team as a non-executive chairman of the board.

Schumacher has been on the podium just once since his comeback, in Valencia this year, and has finished only half of the races this season.

FIVE CHAMPIONS

With Hamilton moving to Mercedes, the sport will have five world champions at different teams next season even without Schumacher.

Hamilton, who is fourth in the current standings and 52 points behind Ferrari's championship leader Fernando Alonso, will partner Nico Rosberg next year. The two were also team mates as teenagers in karting.

The move carries considerable risk for Hamilton despite its logic, with Rosberg's win in China this year the first by a Mercedes works team since 1955.

The gamble is that Mercedes, with all their undoubted resources and expertise, will make the most of new engine rules due to be introduced in 2014 and become frontrunners in the same way that Ferrari were dominant with Schumacher in the early years of the century.

The fear for Hamilton is that it could turn out more like the move of Canada's 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve from Williams to BAR in 1999. Villeneuve was paid handsomely enough but never won another race over the next eight years.

However Hamilton is a driver who can make the difference and Mercedes principal Ross Brawn, whose team is descended directly from BAR, was confident of a happy outcome.

"The arrival of a driver of Lewis's calibre is a testament to the standing of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One and I am proud that Lewis shares our vision and ambition for the success of the Silver Arrows," he said.

"I believe that the combination of Lewis and Nico will be the most dynamic and exciting pairing on the grid next year, and I am looking forward to what we can achieve together."

Whitmarsh, accused by one reporter of dropping McLaren's 'best Wedgewood' China vase in letting a talent like Hamilton slip from his grasp, suggested McLaren was the best place to be for any driver wanting to win races and titles.

Informed personally by Hamilton two days ago of his decision to leave, he said they had snapped up Perez immediately.

"When you speak to him you realise he is very young but that is exciting...we undoubtedly believe we can develop him into a world champion in fairly short order," he said of a 22-year-old who has scored three podium finishes this year.

The sudden breakthrough in the hitherto stalled driver market will now put Ferrari into focus, with Brazilian Felipe Massa out of contract and his fate yet to be decided although many expect him to stay.

It will also open up a vacancy at Sauber.

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Mitsubishi Mirage taking orders now

KUALA LUMPUR: Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia's soon-to-be-launched Mirage hatchback is open for booking from today at Mitsubishi showrooms nationwide, ahead of an official launch in November.

“The all-new Mitsubishi Mirage is now open for booking, and I am confident that Malaysians will like this compact and complete car.

"With outstanding fuel economy and attributes that make it a perfect urban runabout, the Mirage is set to be a big player in the small car segment,” said Tetsuya Oda, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia.

The all-new Mitsubishi Mirage is available in three variants, starting from RM56,000 for the 1.2-litre manual transmission to RM64,000 for the 1.2-litre Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) on-the-road without insurance. The first 500 to book the Mirage will receive a special gift.

Bookings can be made at official Mitsubishi dealerships nationwide from 1st October 2012. (Prices are quoted based on Peninsular Malaysia, Individual Private)

Powered by a modern 1.2-litre three-cylinder MIVEC engine with 78PS and 100Nm of torque, the lightweight  Mirage (850kg) boasts an impressively low fuel consumption figure of 21 km/l, based on the New European Driving Cycle.

Buyers can choose from a smooth and efficient INVECS-III CVT or a five-speed manual gearbox drivetrain.

Besides being the lightest and most fuel efficient car in its class, the Mirage makes for a perfect urban runabout by having the best turning radius in its segment, a tight 4.4m.

The young, urban crowd will also appreciate the Mirage’s sporty and aerodynamic styling with a co-efficient drag value of just 0.30 Cd.

It's available in five colours of  Lemonade Yellow Metallic, Eisen Gray Mica, Red Metallic, White Pearl and Cool Silver Metallic.

It may be compact at just 3.71m, but the Mirage sits five in comfort.

An array of active and passive safety features comes standard such as anti-lock braking system with electronic brakeforce distribution, along with dual front airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners.

Other items such as Bright View instrument cluster, Smart Key with Push Start button*, Digitized fully automatic air conditioner*, leather wrapped steering wheel and 2-DIN touch-screen audio system with USB and iPod interface are available, among other features. (*Features are available only on the Mirage GS (CVT) variant)

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