KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's long-suffering sepak takraw fans were in a state of euphoria after witnessing the national doubles and inter-regu teams both emerging victorious at the Sepak Takraw World Cup tonight.
The highly anticipated inter-regu final saw Malaysia's Farhan Adam, Syahir Rosdi and Azlan Alias (substitutes Haziq Hairul Nizam, Shahalril Aiman Halim) downing Thailand's Poramet Siriswat, Sittipong Khamchan and Varayut Jantarasena (Siriwat Sakha, Pichet Pansan) 15-8, 15-12 at the Titiwangsa Stadium.
Malaysia started strong in the first set and opened up a seven-point advantage before closing out the set 15-8.
The national team maintained their momentum in the second set and were never really threatened by a jittery Thai side despite the latter challenging numerous line calls late in the set.
Malaysia squandered three championship points before closing out the match 15-12 in the second set.
Stadium Titiwangsa menjadi saksi kejayaan luar biasa skuad sepak takraw negara apabila meraih gelaran berganda pada saingan Piala Dunia 2024, sebentar tadi.
Berita penuh: https://t.co/i8PXBA1pR7 pic.twitter.com/GIRedDSGfU— Berita Harian (@bharianmy) May 22, 2024
It is the first time a Malaysian regu has beaten their Thai counterparts since the Melaka leg of the Istaf Super Series in 2015.
Team captain Farhan it was the most meaningful win of his career so far.
"First of all I have to say how grateful I am to be able to win in front of our home crowd here. It is the sweetest moment of my career," said Farhan.
"So many times we have played Thailand in the final and lost. But today we proved we can beat them.
"The supporters played a huge role today, they really fired us up."
Earlier tonight Aidil Aiman Azwawi-Noraizat Mohd Nordin (substitute Baihakki A'ripin) defeated Thailand's Seksan Tubtong-Kittiphum Sareebut (Tanaphon Sapyen) 17-16, 15-13 to claim the doubles crown.
Malaysia has never won a title at the World Cup prior to this. The competition is currently in its fourth edition.
A visibly delighted Aidil said he and Noraizat did well to manage the pressure in the final.
"I think this is our best performance against Thailand so far. We hit the ball cleanly and made few mistakes," said Aidil.
"There was a lot of pressure but we were able to control our emotions and focus on the first ball. We read their serves well.
"I feel really happy right now, I'm not sure what to say."
The group stage of the team event will begin tomorrow.
