PHNOM PENH: The national sepak takraw squad again missed out on the gold medal after losing 1-2 to Indonesia in the men’s doubles final in the 2023 SEA Games here today.
The defeat saw the national squad fail to meet the target of winning the gold medal set for the event at this Games.
The silver medal was the same achievement at the edition in Hanoi, Vietnam last year when Malaysia lost to the same opponent with a similar result.
In the intense match at the NSTC Basketball Hall, the Malaysian pairing of Aidil Aiman Azwawi and Muhammad Nor Aizat Mohd Nordin with Muhammad Hafizul Hayazi Adnan as the reserve, started well when they won 21-16 in the first set.
But the winning rhythm failed to continue in the second set with the national players failing to get points before losing 16-21.
In the decider, the attacking and blocking patterns performed by Ahmad Jais Baharun’s men were often stuck and had to accept a 13-21 defeat in a match that lasted about an hour and a half.
Commenting on today’s match, Muhammad Nor Aizat admitted to being disappointed for failing to avenge defeat to the same team at the Games in Hanoi.
However, he was grateful for the silver medal and promised to perform better at the next tournament
“In the first set, we were lucky to win but in the second we lost our focus, (our) serving and striking (libasan) didn’t even work. That is the reason for our defeat to Indonesia today.
“Actually, we really wanted revenge… the three of us have tried our best but Allah SWT wants us to work harder to get the gold medal,” he said.
Meanwhile, Aidil said the national team had tried as hard as possible to get the gold medal, but luck was not on their side.
So far, the national men’s squad have won three silver medals, in the team event, doubles and chinlone (same stroke) and two bronze medals through chinlone (non-repetition and linking).
Tomorrow, the national team will go into action in the last sepak takraw event – the inter-regu category.
A gold medal in the sepak takraw men’s doubles and chinlone was the target for the Malaysian Sepaktakraw Association (PSM) at the 2023 SEA Games. – BERNAMA
