ISTAF SuperSeries
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PRESS RELEASE HOSTS SAY GOODBYE WITH THIRD PLACE NAY PYI TAW (2 NOVEMBER 2014): Myanmar closed their first ever ISTAF SuperSeries tournament with a 21-18, 21-13 win over Singapore to finish ISTAF SuperSeries MYANMAR 2014/15 in third place. The hosts were in control from the start and met with little resistance from a subdued Singaporean side at the Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium here today. The only cog in their well-oiled machine was tekong Aung Myo Swe, who found the net more often than not and was replaced halfway through the first set by Htoo Aung Kyaw, a member of the Incheon Asian Games regu bronze-winning squad. Aung Kyaw’s powerful serves spurred a side who, although taking a 7-1 lead in the first set, had allowed the Singaporeans to slowly come back into the match. Aided by tekong Mohamed Farhan Amran’s sneaky service, they managed to save five match points but the homeboys were already safe and sound with a six-point lead. The second set started similar to the first, but this time Myanmar did not allow their opponents much room for a comeback. They galloped to a 7-2 lead and then kept Singapore at bay with a minimum five-point margin for the rest of the match. In the finals, Thailand defeated Malaysia 20-22, 21-18, 21-23 in a thrilling match to claim their fourth consecutive ISTAF SuperSeries title and hammer home the fact that they are the world’s best sepaktakraw team. ISTAF SuperSeries MYANMAR 2014/15 only showcases eight of the world’s best men’s teams and six of the women’s. The women’s national team defeated Indonesia 21-19, 22-24, 21-16 to finish third and cap a fine run for the hosts. They beat Japan and took a set off top seeds Thailand in their 2-1 loss in their Group B matches before losing 16-21, 23-21, 13-21 in a engrossing semi-final against Vietnam. Thailand, who has won every single ISTAF SuperSeries title since the first tournament commenced in 2011, showed no sign of giving up their dominance of the game by defeating Vietnam 21-18, 21-13 in the finals. ISTAF SuperSeries MYANMAR 2014/15 kicked-off the 2014/15 season. Three other legs are scheduled to be played in South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines. ISTAF SuperSeries MYANMAR 2014/15 is jointly organised by the International Sepaktakraw Federation (ISTAF) and Asia Sports Ventures (ASV), ISTAF’s exclusive global commercial and developmental partner. It is being held with the support of host partners the Myanmar Ministry of Sports and the Myanmar Sepaktakraw Federation (MSTAF). The official broadcast partner in Myanmar is the Forever Group, who televised matches over MRTV 4 and Channel 7. Selected matches including the semi-finals, third-fourth placing match and finals were aired live. ISTAF SuperSeries MYANMAR 2014/15 was televised to over 70 countries worldwide. For the very first time, fans can also catch all four days of tournament action live on www.sepaktakraw.org. The ISTAF SuperSeries is the first and only elite platform for regular sepaktakraw competition at the highest level. Alongside the ISTAF World Cup, the internationally-recognised event is the only sepaktakraw tournament acknowledged by ISTAF and plays a key role in deciding the official ISTAF World Rankings. FINAL RESULTS (MEN) Finals: Thailand bt Malaysia 2-1 (20-22, 21-18, 21-23) FINAL RESULTS (WOMEN) Finals: Thailand bt Vietnam 2-0 (21-18, 21-13) ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– Released by Shekhinah PR on behalf of Asia Sports Ventures. |
