BANGKOK: He towers over his teammates and his long legs spin like windmill turbine blades, sending the ball swirling past dazed opponents.
The 29-year-old Mohd Syahir Rosdi (pic) has been a key man in Malaysia’s sepaktakraw resurgence, which they capped yesterday by winning the men’s team regu gold at the Nakhon Pathom Gymnasium Stadium in Bangkok.
It was the country’s 57th gold of the Games, marking the highest haul outside of Malaysia.
Standing tall at 1.89m, tekong Syahir combined brilliantly with Mohd Azlan Alias, Mohd Haziq Hairul Nizam, Farhan Adam and Mohd Hafizul Hayazi Adnan to beat Vietnam 15-9, 15-9 in the final, the first victory since the 2017 Games in Kuala Lumpur.
Syahir was also in that winning team, having first pulled on the national jersey in 2013, when he was just 17 years old. Thailand had not been there then.
It was also Malaysia’s second sepaktakraw gold. They won the men’s team regu gold earlier to end a 34-year-wait for the title.
Syahir has also cemented his status as one of the world’s leading tekong, with his thunderous serves which often leave opponents helpless.
The victory over Thailand on their home ground carried special significance as the Thais have ruled in the sport from Manila 2019 to Phnom Penh 2023.
This time, Thailand were beaten by Vietnam in the semi-finals.
“We never expected to win this gold as we knew Vietnam had beaten favourites Thailand,” said Azlan.
“We don’t have words to describe how happy we are to win this title.”
The victory was also a special moment for coach Ahmad Jais Baharun, who guided the team to a double after winning the two titles in the 1991 Games in Manila.
Ahmad Jais does not want his boys to stop here.
“We have the World Cup, Thai King’s Cup and Asian Games next year. We are now getting consistent but let’s not praise ourselves too much.
“I will keep telling the team to keep their feet on the ground and let’s break new records in 2026.”
Meanwhile, the women’s team finished with a bronze after going down 1-15, 12-15 to Indonesia in their last round robin match.
