ISTAF SUPER SERIES SOUTH SUMATRA INDONESIA 2012 - THE FINALS!

MEN'S FINAL Thais see off Malaysian challenge
Malaysia got off to a quick start, but once Siriwat found his range on service, there was to be no stopping Thailand who won their second ISTAF Super Series in a row without dropping a set.

THAILAND 15-9, 15-5, 15-8 MALAYSIA

The match was an exciting contest, with the two ISTAF World Cup finalists each giving it their best shot right from the very outset. Malaysia got into their rhythm from the first service and raced into a 4-1 lead, but once the Thais hit their straps, the turnaround started. After Anuwat and Nongkha had seen plenty of court time in the group stages, it was Pornchai up front spiking and Siriwat at tekong, and both of them were on fine form in the final.

1-4 down soon became 15-9 up, and the first set was in the bag. The second turned into a sepaktakraw demonstration, with captain Pattarapong in particular saving every ball that came his way in an incredible display of agility.

There was time for a mini-fight-back in the third (and ultimately final) set when Malaysian coach Amaluddin Bin Hassan replaced star striker Norshahruddin with Mohammed Fadzli. The Malays led 7-2 when Thailand took their time-out, but seven points later at the next time-out, it was 9-7 Thailand after more unstoppable bullets from the service circle from Siriwat. The Thais ended up taking 13 of the final 14 points, the final shot being – what else? – a Pornchai roll-spike from inches over the net after a perfect set from Pattarapong.

And so the Thais go from strength to strength, but the good news is that the Malaysians are back. Much will be expected of both teams at the next ISTAF Super Series event in Singapore in early May.

WOMEN'S FINAL: Korea give Thailand a real scare!
Thailand were a point away from a 2-0 deficit but managed to turn the match around and win the ISTAF Super Series South Sumatra, Indonesia 2012, after a real battle with Korea.

THAILAND 11-15, 17-15, 15-5, 15-10 KOREA

What a match that was. For half an hour, it looked as if we had the biggest upset of the ISTAF Super Series on our hands. After losing to them 3-0 in the group stage, Korea took the game to the Thais and boy, did it work! Jin Hee Lee was excellent at tekong, Kim I Seul dominated the net, Han Oul Bae blocked everything that came her way and all of a sudden, the scoreline read 15-11, 14-10 in Korea's favour!

And then, the match changed. Thai coach Veeras Na Nongkhai had started with Daranee spiking and Sunthari at tekong, but he decided to go with Payom (who had already replaced Rungtip after the latter took a ball to the face) and more importantly Wanwisa. The emblematic pony-tailed tekong steered Thailand through five set points in total, saving them all and then serving up two winners to take the set 17-15 and level the match.

The third set was one-way traffic with Wanwisa, Payom and Rungtip totally dominant. Veeras brought Daranee and Sunthari back in the fourth to close out the match and they duly did, but without the panache of Wanwisa and her cohorts. Korea fought until the end, and are a worthy number two in the ISTAF Super Series rankings. They are surely set to do battle with the Thais for a good while to come…

WOMEN'S PLAY-OFFS: Vietnam and Malaysia finish off with wins
Vietnam ensured that they kept their streak alive of finishing in the top three of every ISTAF tournament to date with a four-set win over hosts Malaysia on Sunday.


MALAYSIA 10-15, 15-10, 15-10, 15-10 JAPAN
VIETNAM 15-12, 12-15, 15-12, 15-12 INDONESIA

The crowd got behind the Indonesians throughout and spurred them on to take the second set to level the match. At this point, anything was possible but Vietnam coach Trong Thuy Nguyen has the luxury of two top-class tekongs to rotate. Trang was duly replaced by Yen, and the latter used her height and windmill serves to propel her team to third in the tournament, solidifying their third place in the ISTAF Super Series rankings and second in the World Rankings.

For the hosts, the tournament was a real success, and they will enter the Super Series Rankings in sixth place, and leap up to seventh in the world.

In the first match of the day, Malaysia proved too strong for Japan, even though they played some of their back-up squad. Striker Rahilah and tekong Fairuz remained on the bench throughout, but the remaining three of Zubaidah, Rashida and Farhana were more than strong enough for Japan. The Japanese took the opening set with Yumi playing tekong, but once she was substituted, they never managed to keep pace with the Malaysians, who secured fifth place which will see them move up to fourth in the ISTAF World Rankings and fifth in the Super Series table. Japan meanwhile will be fifth in the World and fourth in the Super Series when the new rankings are released.

by New Sepaktakraw