Hanoi, Vietnam, May 17, 2022: Thailand underlined their supremacy in sepak takraw by winning both the women’s and men’s regu titles for teams of three players at the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi on Tuesday afternoon.
After the Thai women had eclipsed Vietnam (silver) and Malaysia (bronze) to take the first gold medal of the day, the Thai men came up against Malaysia in the men’s final at Hoang Mai Gymnasium.
Although the Malaysians gave the Thais a few problems and occasionally threatened to take control, Thailand stayed focused and won the match 2-0 with scores of 21-18, 21-13.
Thailand’s captain and feeder, Patarapong Yupadee, said the match was not as straight forward as the scoreline suggested.
“It was a very hard game,” he said. “I feel very happy to win the gold medal because I had to concentrate so much and play very serious in the game. There was a lot of pressure.”
Thailand’s left-footed attacker, Siriwat Sakha, caused the Malaysians all sorts of problems with his combination of sliced shots off the outside of his left foot and his more powerful driven shots down the middle.
Trailing 9-4 in the first game, Malaysia took a time-out to regroup and try to deal with Siriwat’s bag of tricks. The break seemed to work as Malaysia pulled back to 10-10.
However, with an eight-point deficit at 18-12, Malaysia replaced striker Muhammad Afifuddin Mohd Razali with the head-banded firebrand Muhammad Noaraizat Mohd Nordin in a bid to disrupt the Thais at the net. It was too late to save the first game, though, and Thailand closed it out 21-18 after having five set points at 20-15.
Midway through the second set, Thailand changed the left-footed Siriwat for the right-footed Sittipong Khamchan; this gave them fresh impetus and the Thais came home 21-13 as the Malaysians’ challenge subsided.
Asked if this change from a left-footed to a right-footed player had made a big impact, captain Patarapong replied: “Maybe so-so, because my coach changes everything, left or right, every day in training. We train very hard for this.”
Patarapong said the Thais had been in camp since February for their SEA Games challenge and that the two gold medals from the women’s and men’s regu teams were a gift for the nation.
“In Thailand, everyone sees this sport. A baby can see their father play…everyone, everywhere. I am very proud of all our players today; the two gold medals are for everyone in Thailand,” he said.
Patarapong started playing sepak takraw aged 10 and now, at 38 years old, he has 14 gold medals in seven SEA Games campaigns dating back to 2009.
When asked if he would be trying to make the team for the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in May 2023, the captain said he had not decided. “Maybe, I am not sure. I will finish soon,” he added.
