| Fadhil Yunus |
BRUNEI Darussalam’s national sepak takraw team went down 2-0 to Myanmar in their opening Group ‘B’ match of the Men’s Quadrant in the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at the Titiwangsa Indoor Stadium yesterday.
The national team lost in straight sets and though they ran close losing 21-19 in the first set it was one-way traffic in the second going down 21-9.
Myanmar’s national team coach told his charges to move forward and they duly obliged as evident with all of the running from the early stage of the match.
There were also good rallies which is not quite often seen at doubles because there are only two other players on either side of the net and is difficult to defend.
But there were a collection of good rallies which was mostly finished off by Myanmar’s Aung Thu Min.
Unfortunately, Brunei’s attempt to save set point was left unfulfilled as Mohd Alifuddin Jamaludin went long with his effort who had no disgrace after putting in plenty of points in his service.
Brunei opened the second set and needed to get a point or two in their service.
Myanmar’s Aung Myo Swe cushioned the ball beautifully before being rounded off with a beautiful strike by Thant Zin Oo.
Brunei’s Md Alifuddin provided a powerful serving but most of the strikes were converted by Thant Zin Oo at the net in the second set.
It was his strike partner Aung Thu Min who did most of the damage in the first half as his team-mates opted for him to complete the job in the second.
Myanmar did a terrific job to keep the ball alive from out of play and it was Aung Thu Min with his long limbs to force Brunei to commit the error.
Aung Thu Min provided a fine block after stretching his long leg which was a recurrent theme in the first set.
The Myanmar player got his leg very horizontal and covered much of the net.
Myanmar made the early running as they did in the first set and nearly replicated the block from moments ago from Aung Thu Min as Brunei got themselves on the board.
Brunei attempted to block a shot but was ruled as illegitimate as Myanmar opened up a 5-2 lead.
The ball was swapped to the right hand side as Aung Thu Min did what he did best with a powerful strike.
Md Alifuddin tried to send the ball to his teammates who ducked out off the way and hoped that the ball would clip the tape and go over.
Myanmar reserve Aung Pyae Tun was introduced in the match who has been known as a familiar face in the regu and doubles.
Brunei closed the gap with two points down following excellent strong spiking from their number one Ismail Ang.
Aung Pyae Tun continued to make his mark after flicking with a back spike with his right foot over the right shoulder.
Md Alifuddin provided a left-footed swerving service but the innovative Myanmar had other ideas as they swapped over to Thant Zin Oo for a smart finish.
Muhamad Basyiruddin bin Haji Kamis made strong work and trimmed down the lead to 9-6 despite the attempts of a block from Aung Pyae Tun.
Myanmar almost made it with a tape service and was kept alive but Aung Pyae Tun made the block to extend his side’s lead even further.
Brunei called a time out but it was Aung Pyae Tun again who contributed in turning on the heat against the Bruneian charges.
Basyiruddin’s shot returned to the net and it was three in a row for Myanmar’s service as they closed in victory.
Brunei made a change as the excellent Mohd Alifuddin was replaced by Nur Alimin bin Sunggoh as they were trying different behind the baseline.
Myanmar was within touching distance of getting two points in the group after running away with a 19-8 lead.
Thant Zin Oo, who had a brilliant game alongside the tall striker Aung Thu Min, set up championship point with 12 match points.
Ismail Ang only delayed the inevitable with a good strike as the margin of the score was not in their favour.
But on the next serve Ismail Ang put it in his own net which confirmed victory for Myanmar.
The post Brunei start quadrant opener with loss appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.