MALAYSIAN REGU SWEEP ASIDE THAILAND 2-0 TO CLINCH ASIAN CUP SEPAK TAKRAW TITLE

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia continued to prove its dominance over sepak takraw giants Thailand by emerging as the regu champions in the Asian Sepak Takraw Championship 2025 at Titiwangsa Stadium here tonight.

The Malaysian trio led by Farhan Adam (feeder), Mohammad Syahir Mohd Rosdi (tekong), and Mohamad Azlan Alias (killer), maintained Malaysia's status as a traditional rival after dominating much of the game for about an hour, defeating the team from the White Elephant country, 15-12 and 15-9 in the inaugural edition of the tournament.

The victory also repeats Malaysia's success at the 2024 World Cup in the same event where the national squad won the final match against Thailand.

In the first set, Malaysia started the match excellently with most of the serves perfectly executed by Mohammad Syahir, forcing Thailand to concede to the strength of the national squad.

Thailand led by Yodsawat Uthaijaronsri (feeder), Sittipong Khamchan (tekong), and Varayut Jantarasena (killer) were in desperate need of a win in the second set, thus employing various tactics in the hope of dragging the match to a deciding set, but all their attacks were neutralised by the Malaysian trio, thus confirming a stylish victory.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Syahir, when met after the match, described the unexpected victory as surprising, and admitted that he was not at his best performance during the early rounds of the team event.

"Thank God we won 2-0, but there are still many weaknesses to fix in terms of serve; we hope that with the time we have, we can improve to face Thailand in the team event," he said.

This is the second victory for the national squad in the tournament, having also made history by winning the quadrant event on Monday.

The team event competition will start tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA