Written by: Jireh Tay
Edited by: Cheng Kai Wen
Photos by: Eusoff Works
As the Takraw boys have yearned and fought hard for their Takraw matches in the preliminaries and semis to get to where they are today. It finally all boils down to the last match of the IHG Takraw as we look for revenge in getting crowned as champions of Takraw after getting denied last year where they lost to TH in the finals. With plenty to prove, EH Takraw placed their best foot forward as they formulated a plan against the powerhouse TH as we stepped onto the court.
For our first line, we have Suffyan, Nauman, Haiqal, Jeff. With plenty on the line, Eusoff fought hard for the first set, giving lots of hard headers but lost 15-8 to TH. However, we refused to stay down for long as we leveled back up the scores with the beautiful defending from Suffyan and Haiqal, while Nauman led the offense with his awesome headers, taking home the second set of the first regu 15-10. However, on the third set, our defense seemed to have slipped up as TH found a way to break through and pull the score away 15-5 in TH’s favour. At this point, the TH supporters were starting to jeer at our players which made Nauman lose his composure, resulting in Jeff needing to step up to make a difference in the game by substituting for Nauman. However, the momentum had already swung in TH’s favor as they comfortably took the 4th set 15-1, and also the first regu.
One of the many happy moments on court during the finals, as we scored consecutive points against TH.
Desperately needing to win the second regu to keep EH in the game, EH sent our senior line made up of Shawn, Keefe, and Said in hopes of stealing back the second regu from TH. With the captain chasing down every ball like a hound, and Said setting up plays beautifully for Shawn to head it into the heart of the TH’s court, the trio stepped up to make a statement that they were not going down without a fight as we took the first set of the second regu 15-13. However, TH had masterful serves and spikes of their own as they gave EH defense a very hard time, taking back the second and third set, both with a score of 15-11. As our sea of yellow cheered for the EH team, the morale of the team did improve but it came a little too late as TH swooped in to finish the kill with the 4th set ending with a score of 15-11. TH thus takes home the second regu and therefore wins this year’s IHG takraw.
Our legendary trio who did beautifully in all the games and gave their all in the finals.
Sepak Takraw Finals vs TH
Overall: 2-0 to TH
Regu 1: Suff, Nau, Haiqal, Jeff
Set 1: 15-8 to TH
Set 2: 15-10 to EH
Set 3: 15-5 to TH
Set 4: 15-1 to TH
Regu 2: Shawn, Keefe, Said
Set 1: 15-13 to EH
Set 2: 15-11 to TH
Set 3: 15-11 to TH
Set 4: 15-11 to TH
Our Takraw team that worked really hard and gave their all.
Although our side did not emerge victorious in this year’s finals, I’m sure the players played their heart and soul out on the court to try and win the game. Their valiant efforts could really be felt by the supporters and it was very heartwarming to see them put up such a strong fight against tough opponents. We will definitely work harder and come back much stronger to dethrone TH next year! Good fight boys! LFG EUSOFF!!!
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