Sepak takraw team say sorry after failing to defend title

KUALA LUMPUR: National sepak takraw team head coach Ahmad Jais Baharun has apologised to fans following the shock defeat of the regu squad in the World Cup semi-finals on Tuesday.

Malaysia’s top trio Farhan Adam, Azlan Alias and Syahir Rosdi appeared out of sorts in their match against Myanmar at the Titiwangsa Stadium and went down tamely 15-9, 15-10.

Myanmar went on to push Thailand to a deciding set in the final before losing 15-8, 13-15, 15-7.

Malaysia were defending champions in the regu event and Jais admitted it was a disappointing result.

“I want to apologise to all Malaysian sepak takraw fans for our failure in the regu event.

“It is a bitter pill to swallow but it could be a blessing in disguise for us.

“We have to be careful of Myanmar and India in the upcoming team event as they have both improved tremendously in recent seasons.

“We have to be more consistent from the start in the team regu event,” said Jais, who stressed that the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September remains their No. 1 priority this year.

“The Asian Games is our main target as (being a major multi-sports games) it is of national interest,” he added.

Certain quarters blamed the team’s appearance at the National Sports Awards in Bukit Jalil on Wednesday, just before their match against Myanmar, as a factor behind the shock loss.

The squad won the 2025 Men’s Team of the Year award while Jais won the 2025 Men’s Coach of the Year award at the ceremony.

But Syahir said that is not an excuse.

“We cannot use that (awards ceremony) as an excuse. When we enter the court, our performance is our responsibility.

“When we lose, we have to bear the responsibility as a team.

“This defeat does sting. We were slow to find our rhythm against Myanmar, which is something we have to improve on, especially against teams like Myanmar and South Korea who are in form,” he said.

The national quadrant team comprising Afifuddin Razali, Shahalril Aiman Halim, Amirul Zazwan Amir and Aidil Aiman Zawawi though delivered the cheers by defeating India 17-15, 15-10 in the final to claim the title.

It was essentially a bonus title for Malaysia as the quadrant event was not included at the 2024 Kuala Lumpur World Cup.