New Straits Times (NST) successfully defended its title at the Allianz Media Badminton 2026 tournament after defeating first-time finalists Sin Chew Daily 3-0 in the final at Sports Arena Sentosa recently.

The victory marked NST’s fourth championship title since the tournament was first introduced in 2019, making it the most successful team in the history of the Allianz Media Badminton tournament. NST previously won the title in 2019, 2023 and 2025.

Astro, which has won the tournament twice in 2022 and 2024, finished fourth this year after falling 2-1 to debutants RTM in the third- and fourth-place playoff.

RTM secured third place in its debut appearance, while Sin Chew Daily finished as runner-up following its first appearance in the tournament final.

In the Plate category, Harian Metro defeated Bernama 2-1 to emerge as Plate champion.

The sixth edition of the Allianz Media Badminton tournament featured 12 teams, including Astro, NST, Bernama, China Press, Kosmo, Sin Chew Daily, Sinar Harian, The Star, Harian Metro, as well as newcomers RTM and Media Karangkraf. Host Allianz Malaysia completed the line-up.

The tournament was played in a round-robin format, with teams competing across two Men’s Doubles categories and one Mixed Doubles category.

Allianz Malaysia Chief Executive Officer and captain of the Allianz Malaysia badminton team, Sean Wang, said the annual tournament provides an opportunity for the company to connect with media practitioners outside of their usual work engagements.

“Our annual Media Badminton is always an event I look forward to as it gives us the opportunity to meet our media friends outside of work, and to appreciate them for their important work in helping Malaysians stay informed and amplifying our efforts and initiatives,” he said.

He also congratulated all the winners and thanked all participating teams, adding that Allianz Malaysia looked forward to hosting the media again next year.

Allianz Media Badminton 2026 Results

• Champion: New Straits Times
• Runner-up: Sin Chew Daily
• Third place: RTM
• Fourth place: Astro
• Plate Champion: Harian Metro
• Plate Runner-up: Bernama
• Consolation: China Press, Kosmo, Sinar Harian, The Star and Media Karangkraf

With NST claiming the 2026 title, the tournament’s roll of honour now stands at four NST victories, while Astro has two titles. The 2020 and 2021 editions were not held due to the Movement Control Order (MCO).