KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia have moved closer to their final targets in the Sepak Takraw World Cup 2024 premier division doubles and regu after qualifying for the semi-finals at Stadium Titiwangsa here.
In the quarter-finals today, the national doubles comprising Aidil Aiman Azwawi, Muhammad Noraizat Mohd Nordin and Baihakki A’ripin slogged to beat South Korea’s Kim Young Cheol, Shin Hee Seop and Park Cheol Hee.
Ahmad Jais Baharun’s charges won 2-1 (15-11, 15-17, 15-8) and will take on Myanmar in the semi-finals tonight. Myanmar beat India 2-0 (15-8, 15-13) in another quarter-final tie.
The other semi-final will pit world powerhouse and defending champions Thailand against Indonesia, respective 2-0 winners over Japan (15-10, 15-11) and Vietnam (15-9, 17-15) in the quarter-finals.
Malaysia have also qualified for the regu semi-finals after the trio of Farhan Adam, Mohammad Syahir Mohd Rosdi and Mohamad Azlan Alias easily beat Singapore’s Muhammad Danish Irfan Muhamad Faizal, Youri Adli Fathullah Ahmadi and Akmal Musyarraf Rostam 2-0 (15-8, 15-9).
In the last four, the national regu, the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022 silver medallist, will meet the winners of the Myanmar-Indonesia match.
The other semi-final will see Thailand, 2-0 (15-7, 15-10) winners over India in the quarter-finals, taking on the winners of the Philippines-Brunei match.
