Khairy wants two gold medals from sepak takraw

PUTRAJAYA: Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin is confident the national sepak takraw squad will contribute two gold medals at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games (KL2017).

He said the two gold medals target set by his ministry was realistic even though the sports has been dominated by Thailand in recent years.

“I am confident that they (the sepak takraw players) will not disappoint,” he said when launching the Sepak Takraw League (STL) here yesterday.

Sepak takraw offers 12 gold medals in KL2017 from August 19 to 30.

The Malaysian sepak takraw squad won a gold medal in the regu event at the 2015 Singapore SEA Games but it was a hollow win since arch rival Thailand had opted out.

Asked about the STL, Khairy hopes that the sepak takraw matches would be watched by people from all over the world just like the English Premier League (EPL).

“I hope that in future, the STL will turn out to be like the EPL with the arrival of foreign sepak takraw players,” he added. - Bernama