KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysia clinched their maiden world cup trophy in the quadrant event after overcoming India 2-0 in the final of the 2026 Sepak Takraw World Cup at the Titiwangsa Stadium here tonight.
The national squad - comprising Muhammad Afifuddin Mohd Razali, Muhammad Shahalril Aiman Halim, Amirul Zazwan Amir, and Aidil Aiman Azwawi - received an extra boost from about 3,000 spectators who flooded the stadium dubbed the ‘Home of Sepak Takraw’ to provide extraordinary support throughout the proceedings.
The squad, managed by Ahmad Jais Baharun, started shakily early in the first set, committing several errors which included serves by Aidil Aiman that gave India an early advantage to lead 4-0, but Malaysia fought back to level the score at 5-5.
The match became increasingly thrilling as the visiting team continued to unleash several powerful spikes, while Malaysia retaliated with counterattacks until the score was tied at 15-15. However, the first-set ultimately favoured Malaysia at 17-15.
The second set witnessed highly dramatic action, but the national squad stepped up with more confidence to lead 10-7, piling pressure on the Indian side represented by Ram Kumar Sharma, Yunam Akash, Bobby Kumar, and Sorokhaibam Malemnganba Singh.
Malaysia, making no further mistakes, continued to rack up points before defeating India 15-10 and officially crowning themselves as the kings of the quadrant event in this prestigious world cup.
Meanwhile, commenting on the match, team captain Amirul Zazwan admitted that his team had struggled in every match from the group stage right up to facing India in the final.
He said that the final showdown against India in this edition of the championship was much tougher compared to last year's Asia Cup.
“But I feel last year’s competition wasn't as strong as this year's, so this year has been very, very challenging for me. We were definitely under pressure; right from the start when we played against Singapore, we couldn't completely find our rhythm.
“However, I was confident we could do our best against India. For me, we just needed to stay more focused. The team quadrant event is different. You have to adapt to how you receive the serves,” he told reporters shortly after the match.
The regu event final meanwhile, saw Thailand redeem their disappointment from last year's Asia Cup -where they finished as runners-up - by capturing the World Cup title after defeating Myanmar 2-1.
Both teams started fiercely in pursuit of points, locking the score at 8-8, but Thailand showed their prowess by pulling ahead to 11-8 before securing a 15-8 victory in the first set.
The match turned into a thriller in the second set as both teams traded serves, but victory this time went to Myanmar at 15-13, dragging the game into a deciding set.
Stung by the setback, Thailand seemed to rediscover their rhythm to take an early lead before wrapping up a 15-7 win to clinch the World Cup regu title.
-- BERNAMA
