KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian sepak takraw went from the brink of collapse to claiming a historic two out of three titles at the recent Kuala Lumpur Sepak Takraw World Cup in what has been a rollercoaster ride for the sport over the last three years.
Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia (STAM) president Datuk Sumali Reduan, who took the reins when the sport was going through its darkest moments, has put the association back on track and was hoping to continue sepak takraw's revival here.
STAM was expelled from the Asian Sepak Takraw Federation (Astaf) in May 2021 following a feud between former STAM president Datuk Ahmad Ismail and the Asian body.
The International Sepak Takraw Federation (Istaf) followed suit, terminating STAM's status as an affiliate in March 2022.
A rival national body, Malaysian Sepak Takraw Federation (Mastaf), was setup in the same month to replace STAM. Five of STAM's state affiliates left them to support Mastaf.
Sumali was elected as the new STAM president in February 2022, winning unopposed at their annual general meeting-cum-elections, and went straight to work.
Mastaf was disbanded in Dec 2022 following Perlis' decision to rejoin STAM. This paved the way for STAM to be reaccepted by Astaf (June) and Istaf (Oct) last year.
"It was a very challenging time," said Sumali when contacted today.
"We knew we had to resolve all these issues, otherwise we could not compete in any international competitions. Like it or not, Astaf and Istaf are the governing bodies for the sport.
"Mastaf's formation did not make things easier. Our goal was to get everyone on the same page otherwise we would have issues with who would oversee the national team, the referees and so on.
"But despite the issues faced, we continued with all our domestic programmes, including the Sepak Takraw League (STL) and also conducted workshops and discourse with stakeholders.
"And thankfully we were able to resolve the issues and go back to focusing on what we needed to do to put the sport back on track.
"To be able to win two titles at the World Cup was a huge relief for us but at the same time we are aware that we must not get carried away.
"Our goal is to create many more players in the mould of Syahir Rosdi, Farhan Adam and Azlan Alias."
Syahir, Farhan and Azlan - Malaysia's first choice regu - upset their Thai counterparts to claim the inter-regu title at the World Cup last week and also beat them in the opening match of the team event final at the Titiwangsa Stadium.
Thailand would, however, go on to beat Malaysia 2-1 to claim the team event title.
Malaysia had earlier in the week stunned Thailand in the doubles final. Malaysia had never beaten Thailand since the doubles category was introduced in 2004.
Malaysia had not beaten Thailand in an inter-regu final since the 2015 Istaf Super Series leg in Melaka.
Sumali added that STAM have both short and long-term visions for the national team.
He said that enforcing stricter discipline has been a key priority.
"We have in past years had issues with discipline in the national team," said Sumali.
"I emphasised with the coaches that we must not compromise when it comes to discipline and gave them permission to drop players who were not disciplined.
"We also focused on improving fitness, ball control as well as other skills in the six months leading up to the World Cup.
"That was our plan for the short term. For the long term we have been engaging with the Education Ministry, Higher Education Ministry as well as various groups, including those who were previously not on the same page as STAM.
"This feedback allowed us to understand what our strengths and weaknesses are and map out our talent development pathway for the future."
Sumali added that the national squad's next major assignment will be the Thailand King's Cup on Sep 1-8.