Sweet success
Malaysian men’s regu end 24-year gold drought
OUR TEAM IN INDONESIA Reporters: LIM TEIK HUAT, K. RAJAN and TAN MING WAI Photographer: FAIHAN GHANI
THERE were tears of joy as players an nd coaches, still slumped on court, cele- brated the success of ending a 24-year r gold medal drought in Asian Games s sepak takraw competition.
The Malaysians put up an incredible fight to recover from a 11-17 deficit in the h second game to beat Indonesia 18-21, 22-20, 21-11 in the men’s regu final at Jakabaring Sports City yesterday.
The Malaysians knew there was a chance to get the gold as Thailand did not enter this time but they also knew it would have been foolish to assume the hosts would have served them the win on a platter.
Indonesia, egged on by a vociferous crowd, took the fight to Malaysia. The Malaysian regu of Muhammad Zulkifli Abd Razak (tekong), Farhan Adam (feeder) and Mohamad Azlan Alias (attacker) made mistakes at the end of the first game and went down 18-21.
The Malaysian trio had to win the second game to keep their hopes alive and they showed nerves of steel to force their way back to win 22-20.
That was the turning point and the momentum was on Malaysia’s side as they took the deciding game 21-11 to secure the fourth gold medal for Malaysia at the 18th edition of the Asiad.
It’s a big relief to the Malaysian contingent as they now need just three more golds over the next five days to hit the target of seven with strong prospects remaining in squash, pencak silat, sailing i and track cycling.
It is the third time in Asian Games history that Malaysia claimed the men’s regu gold medal.
Malaysia last won the event back in 1994 Hiroshima Games in Japan. They also emerged c hampions at the 1990 Games in Beijing.
T Team coach Abdul Talib Ahmad hailed the f fighting spirit of the players in the second game.
“Indonesia had nothing to lose and played very well today as it was their first-ever sepak takraw final,” said Talib.
“Our players controlled their emotions so well despite the crowd support for the Indonesians.
“They gave their best to win this gold for the country. I thank everyone who supported us at home and here,” said the coach, whose voice is still hoarse from all the shouting.
Indonesia player Victoria Eka Prasetya said they made the mistake of not staying patient in the second game.
“We had a good lead but lost our concentration at that time. It’s a good experience for us in the future. We are sorry to Indonesians that we could not get the gold,” he said.
Malaysia had earlier claimed silver behind Thailand in the men’s team regu event last week.