Men's sepaktakraw: Myanmar manufacture Malay malaise

Cool cats Thailand, never ruffled, went through against Indonesia in straight sets in an exhibition of blinding quality in a match they could have won much more easily.

Myanmar won a tantalising tie-break 15-12 with the result in doubt until the very last rally. The turning point came as the underdogs went 14-12 up and moved onto match point with a sensational play.

Striker Myint U Ang Cho leapt almost head height off the ground and executed a thunderous overhead spike which would have had Brazilian football legend Pelé eating his heart out.

Myanmar then served for the match but the ball was nervously fed into the Malaysian half. The crowd held their breath as Malaysia set up for the kill, Mohd Saiful Nizam Mohd had the opportunity to strike back but he overcooked the spike which crashed into the net.

Winners Myanmar celebrated on the court, on the bench and in the stands. One supporter held aloft a banner which read 'Gold for Myanmar' - the National Olympic Committee are still looking for their first gold medal of Doha 2006 and with their women also qualifying for the women's doubles final it was a fruitful morning for them.

Mohd and Malaysian teammate Mohamed Saufi Salleh were crestfallen. Both sunk to the ground in despair, and despite high hopes the Malaysian team have come up short in all three Sepaktakraw disciplines. Losing to Thailand in the final of the team and regu events was maybe acceptable but defeat to Myanmar was a bitter pill to swallow.

Thailand were majestic in their victory over Indonesia. Rawat Parbchompoo and Purich Pansira almost shot themselves in the foot by over elaborating at times in the match. There were rallies when the Thais appeared to go for the ball with the more difficult foot just to prove they could. Some of the points they constructed with flicks and mid-air contortions were awesome.

Although Indonesia had several set points to tie up the match Thailand won 21-18 25-24. Indonesia did well to stay in touch and on this alone deserve their bronze medal, although there was an unquestionable gulf in class.

Myanmar are now all that stand between Thailand and the hat-trick.

15th Asian Games, Doha 2006