MALAYSIA PUT ON A SHOW TO REMEMBER

National team defeat Indonesia in edge-of-seat game to book place in ISTAF SuperSeries MALAYSIA 2013/14 quarter-final

KOTA KINABALU (1 NOVEMBER 2013): Malaysia kept an almost full house on the edge of their seats in one of the most exciting matches in ISTAF SuperSeries 2013/14 history when they defeated Indonesia 3-0 in their final Group A match.

Spurred by a vocal home crowd at the Likas Sports Complex, the first choice trio of Noor Azman Abdul Hamid, Mohd Syazreen Qamar Salehan and Mohd Hanafiah Dolah started off well by winning the first set 15-9 after taking the lead from the start and not letting go.

In the second set, however, Indonesia replaced their second choice tekong Abrian Sihab Aldi Latama with first choice Viktor Eka Prasetya and Indonesia played like a different team. The experienced 22-year-old took charge from the start, and led team mates Hendra Pago and Nofrisal to a 7-1 lead. Coach Jamaluddin Hassan then brought in second choice tekong Fazil Mohd Asri to stem the tide, but the Indonesians kept up the momentum to win 8-15.

Nor Azman come in again early in the third set and both teams traded points until the score stood at 12-12.  Viktor Eka then made two uncharacteristic errors to give the top seeds two points before Mohd Hanafaiah ended matters with a spike to give Malaysia a 15-12 win and the match.

“I’m so proud of my team,” said an elated Jamaluddin. “Many people thought we could not beat Indonesia as they have been the more consistent team, but we proved that we could pull through even without (injured striker) Norshahruddin Mad Ghani.”

Malaysia will meet Singapore in the ISTAF SuperSeries MALAYSIA 2013/14 quarter-finals tomorrow.

ISTAF SuperSeries MALAYSIA 2013/14: Malaysia Vs Indonesia – Men’s with the backing of the home crowd, Malaysia emerge victorious against a very strong Indonesia team. Malaysia beat Indonesia 2-1

The women’s team suffered their second defeat to Vietnam in the tournament, which means that they now have a 4-0 losing record against their opponents in ISTAF SuperSeries 2013/14. The national team, who have already qualified for the semi-finals, lost 15-11, 17-15, 15-10 in their final Group A match.

Malaysia will now meet top seeds Thailand, who defeated Indonesia 15-13, 15-7, in the semi-finals.

ISTAF SuperSeries Malaysia, October 31-November 3, is the third and final leg of ISTAF SuperSeries 2013/14. The ISTAF SuperSeries Final is scheduled to be held February 13-16 next year in Kuala Lumpur.

The ISTAF SuperSeries platform is created by Asia Sports Ventures – the International Sepaktakraw Federation’s (ISTAF) exclusive global commercial and development partner. The Malaysian leg is supported by Persatuan Sepaktakraw Malaysia (PSM)

Results

ISTAF SuperSeries Malaysia 2013/14

November 1

Men’s competition

Group A: Malaysia bt Indonesia 2-1 (15-9, 8-15, 15-12), India bt Iran 2-1 (9-15, 15-9, 16-14)

Group B: Thailand bt Brunei 2-0 (15-1, 15-4); Japan bt Singapore 2-0 (15-9, 15-10); Brunei bt Germany 2-1 (12-15, 15-9, 15-4); Thailand bt Singapore 2-0 (15-7, 15-7), Japan bt Germany 2-1 (12-15, 15-5, 15-6)

Women’s competition

Group A: Vietnam bt Malaysia 2-0 (15-11, 17-15, 15-10)

Group B: Thailand bt Indonesia 2-0 (15-13, 15-7)

Fixtures – 2nd November

Men’s competition

Quarter-finals: Malaysia vs Singapore; Japan vs India; Indonesia vs Brunei; Thailand vs Iran

Women’s Competition

Semi-finals: Thailand vs Malaysia; Vietnam vs Indonesia

More information on ISTAF SuperSeries Malaysia

ISTAF SuperSeries Malaysia 2013/14 is the third and final round of ISTAF SuperSeries 2013/14. Alongside the ISTAF World Cup, the elite, internationally-recognised ISTAF SuperSeries is the only sepaktakraw tournament acknowledged by ISTAF and therefore plays a key role in deciding the official ISTAF World Rankings.

In both men’s and women’s competition, only the top two teams from each group advance to the play-off stage based on points accumulated. Group, play-off and quarter-final matches will be decided in three sets over 15 points while the semi-finals, 3rd/4th placing and final matches will all be played over five sets.

ISTAF SuperSeries Malaysia 2013/14 will be televised on ASTRO Arena (in High Definition) and RTM. Selected matches including the men’s quarter-finals, third-fourth placing match and both men’s and women’s finals will be aired live.

All in all, ISTAF SuperSeries Malaysia 2013/14 will be watched by fans in 70 countries.

Released by Shekhinah PR on behalf of Asia Sports Ventures.

For further information kindly contact:

Christopher Raj

Shekhinah PR / +602 2161 881

chris@shekhinah.my

Aaron

Shekhinah PR / +6017 640 2472

aaron@shekhinah.my

Johan

Shekhinah PR / +6012 515 2812

johan@shekhinah.my