The national sepak takraw team settled for joint-bronze in the regu event of the 29th King's Cup Sepak Takraw Championship 2014 after losing 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) to Laos in the semi-finals yesterday.
The team of Nur Alimin Sunggoh, Md Shukri Jaineh, Hafizzuddin Jamaludin, Jamaluddin Hj Marzi and Marzuki Munap had started off with a 2-1 loss to Singapore in Bangkok on Wednesday. They bounced back with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) victory over Iran later in the day to move into the last-four. The Sultanate already picked up a silver medal in the doubles event on Wednesday after losing 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) to the Philippines in the Division 1 final.
Brunei lost to the same opponents in the title decider during last year's edition of the competition. The team of Nur Alimin, Ismail Ang and Abd Hadi Ariffin Matali had started out their campaign with a 2-1 (21-18, 17-21, 21-14) victory over Singapore on Monday. They then swept the group with a 2-1 (19-21, 21-17, 21-17) win over India on Tuesday.
Brunei made it three straight with a 2-1 (20-22, 21-11, 21-17) triumph over China in the semi-finals the next day. The Sultanate will complete their campaign in Bangkok with the team event. They will kick off the event today against Korea before taking on Thailand in the second game.
Amin Maharil, Akmal Hamimi, Shahrin Bubin and Aliffuddin Jamaludin are the other four players on the squad. Brunei are in Thailand to gear up for the upcoming 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Korea. The 12-player squad are competing in the tournament as a warm up for the Sept 19 - Oct 4 competition.
