Sepak takraw, a confirmed gold for Malaysia in Asian Games?
SHAH ALAM - The national sepak takraw team topped Group B of the Asian Games men's team event yesterday with a comprehensive 3-0 win over South Korea.
This raises the question of whether Malaysia has a shot at winning gold at the 2023 Asian Games.
The Malaysian team, despite a shaky match against Indonesia, won 2-1 on Monday and now advances to the semi-finals to challenge Laos yesterday.
Experienced sports journalist Abdul Hafiz Ahmad, 51, believes that Thailand is the favorite to win gold in the team event, given their past experience.
However, he says that anything can happen in the finals.
"The chances in the team event for sepak takraw lean towards Thailand, especially for gold, because of past experiences, mainly in the King's Cup final in Korat.
"So I think silver is in the bag for Malaysia.
"However, on the day itself, we have to look at the performance of our team with high spirits, and we can persevere against Thailand," Abdul Hafiz told Sinar Daily.
He added that the lineup of Thai players who replaced Pornchai Kaokaew at the King's Cup proved to be strong and gave Malaysia a run for their money.
"We saw the recent King's Cup without Pornchai, who is a gold medal athlete.
"We had lost in the King's Cup to a lineup that is still strong without him.
"However, this is not proven to be impossible for Malaysia to win. We simply have an uphill battle," he added.
The Sepak Takraw national team will have to face Laos in the semi-finals and should continue to focus on winning the next match at hand.
National coach chief Ahmad Jais Baharun warned Malaysia not to underestimate their opponents.
"We can't look down on Laos at all, as there are visible signs that they could rise to the occasion and enter the semi-finals," Ahmad Jais said.
Sepak takraw gaining popularity worldwide
Sepak takraw is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, with people in the United States and Europe picking up the sport in recent years.
The sport, which is now known as "kick volleyball" in the US, has sparked interest in many with its Thai and Malay wording of kick (sepak) and woven ball (takraw).
It is already a popular game among Asia's sports scenes.
On this, Abdul Hafiz said that some European countries have taken an interest in the sport, but it may have been slower to reach a worldwide audience due to a lack of promotional materials.
"Europe has some circuits between themselves, but the competitiveness when compared to Asia, especially at the King's Cup, still required more exposure to the sport," he added.
