PALEMBANG: The national sepak takraw squad are just a final away from making history in winning the country’s first gold medal at the Asian Games when they easily beat hosts Indonesia in the team regu event semi-final here earlier today (Tuesday).
In the semi-final tie held at the Ranau Hall in the Jakabaring Sports City in Palembang, national head coach Abdul Talib Ahmad’s masterstroke in changing team tactics by fielding the second regu first clearly paid dividends when the regu led by Mohd Syazreenaqmar Salehan did not face any problems in taming Indonesia’s first regu, 21-17, 21-13.
The national team’s first regu made up of Mohammad Shahir Mohd Rosdi (tekong), Farhan Adam and Mohamad Azlan Alias who took to the court for the second tie were met with strong opposition from Indonesia’s second regu led by Hendra Pago.
In the first set, they went down 16-21 to the hosts, but they bounced back to win the next two sets, 21-18, 21-14 to confirm their place in the final which takes place tomorrow (Wednesday).
In the final, Malaysia’s opponents will be none other than arch rivals and defending champions Thailand who easily beat India 2-0 in the other semi-final. — BERNAMA