MALAYSIA broke the hearts of hundreds of fans at the Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium in Naypyitaw yesterday when they defeated hosts Myanmar 21-11, 21-14 in the ISTAF SuperSeries Myanmar 2014/15 semi-finals.
Malaysia, who will meet Thailand in the final, had sailed into the semis without losing a game in their three group fixtures and kept the momentum going in the first set.
Tekong Mohd Syahir Mohd Rosdi led the charge with pin-point service winners and three aces while striker Khairol Zaman Hamir Akhbar and Syazreenqamar Salehan both attacked and defended the net with a vengeance.
Mohd Syahir’s performance, however, fluctuated in the second set. The gangly 21-year-old made seven service errors to allow Myanmar to match the second seeds point for point. But poor play from Myanmar tekong Aung Myo Swe undid the hosts’ good work and allowed Malaysia to forge ahead after the score was level at 11-11 to come out worthy winners.
“This was the best performance to date by the boys in this tournament and I’m proud of them,” said coach Najib Iman. “Everything came together, especially in the first set, and their play was matched by their determination to win.”
He added, however, that Malaysia would have to be near perfect if they wanted to challenge top seeds Thailand, who come into today’s final with three consecutive ISTAF SuperSeries titles under their belt.
The defending champions cruised to a 21-11, 21-9 win in their semi-final against Singapore and are favourites to win the tournament.