Thailand teams have merry time
[SEPAK TAKRAW] Thailand's stranglehold over sepak takraw in the Asian Games continued as their women's and men's teams registered semi-final wins yesterday, with the women eyeing their third consecutive crown following a thrilling 2-1 victory over China.
The Thai women's victory over a resilient China was their third straight win in Doha, but did see the gold-medal favourites drop a regu for the first time in the tournament. In the opening regu match, Phutsadi Suancharun made few mistakes with her serves, giving her team the impetus to post an early 13-3 advantage that allowed them to coast home in the first set. Tidawan Daosakul shone in the second, her well-executed spikes and brilliant blocking steering Thailand to the first regu 21-5 21-4. China responded to their first-match thrashing when Zhou Ronghong, Sun Xiaodan and Wang Xiaohua continued their winning streak at the Games, with a 21-17 21-16 win over Thailand. The tie was decided in the third regu match when Thailand's Nitinadda Kaewkamsai, arguably the best server in the women's game, was introduced at the start of the match. Nitinadda's immaculate serving paced the Thai attack, allowing her team to maintain a winning lead throughout. Team-mate Payom Srihongsa was also prominent in the decisive third regu match, her sharp spiking keeping the Chinese trio on the back foot. Thailand won the third regu 21-11 21-8 and a berth in the final, where they will go up against arch-rivals Vietnam, who crushed South Korea 3-0 in the other semi-finals yesterday. Thai feeder Areerat Takan said, "We are very happy with the win and we are already thinking about the final. Our target is to win the gold medal and I hope we will win it. We will do our best to retain the crown." Colonel Ruj Saeng-udom, secretary-general of the Sepak Takraw Association of Thailand, said, "This match was very exciting. Both teams were well prepared and played their best. I think it would be much more fun if the crowd were livelier and made some noise and cheered the players." He said the Chinese have improved a lot. "We could not attack effectively due to their solid defence." Meanwhile, the men's side saw Thailand, also seeking their successive third title, power past Burma 3-0 to face the winners between Malaysia and Indonesia in the other semi-finals, in today's final.
Preechachan Wiriyanupappong The Nation Doha
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