It was a moment of triumph after Malaysia defeating bitter rivals Thailand to clinch gold at the Sepak Takraw World Cup last night (May 22).
Thousands of local fans at the Titiwangsa Stadium burst into overjoyed roars when Malaysia’s national doubles and inter-regu teams came out victorious, a feat which many didn’t expect them to pull off.
During the doubles event, Malaysia led the first set by six points but quickly bleed the lead away as the match progressed, reported NST.
However, the duo of Aidil Aiman Azwawi-Noraizat Mohd Nordin held out strong and eventually were able to secure the first set with a close 17-16 victory.
The second set was equally as close but Malaysia ultimately triumphed over Thailand’s Seksan Tubtong-Kittiphum Sareebut with a 15-13 score.
As for the inter-regu event, Farhan Adam, Syahir Rosdi and Azlan Alias trounced Thailand 15-8 in the first set and secured another victory for Malaysia with a 15-12 win in the second set.
These double victories are undoubtedly a moment of great joy for Malaysian fans, who have been longing to see the national team win its first gold medal since the World Cup was first introduced in 2011.
It also marked the first time Malaysia has managed to defeat Thailand in a doubles event, reported Berita Harian.
Team Malaysia’s captain Farhan told NST that this 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.
“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,” he said.
Congratulations to the team for bringing home our first ever gold medal!
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