Thailand came first in the men's, Vietnam in the women's, while Myanmar took third and unlucky Malaysia fourth
But Thailand remain the undisputed kings of sepaktakraw, despite the courageous displays by some new kids on the block. It may, however, give an inkling the south east Asian powerhouse might not have it their own way in the future.
Thailand swept the men's competition with wins in the team, regu and the newly introduced double event, but traditionally weaker sides China, Japan and Korea all showed they could mix it with the best over the competition's 11-day programme.
Superstar Phunsueb Suebsak of Thailand might not have dominated like he did at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, but the highly-rated tekong is still capable of winning matches almost single-handed with his trademark 'horse-kick' serves.
In the men's regu event, Thailand's Phunsueb, Aiemsa Ard Panomporn, Panomporn, Kaokaew Pornchai, Jaisinghol Somporn and Somsakul Singha were far too strong for the rest of the field, not dropping a single set en route to their third straight gold medal.
They met traditional rivals Malaysia in the regu final, running out 21-19, 22-20 winners in another classic struggle. Myanmar and Indonesia took bronze, repeating the dose in the team event.
Thailand's women's team of Takan Areerat, Kaewkamsai Nitinadda, Daosakul Tidawan, Klongbungkar Pinporn and Suancharun Phutsadi started as favourites to defend their 2002 Asian Games regu title, and did so with a minimum of fuss over neighbours Vietnam. Their win went some way to avenge their shock loss in the team event gold medal match, which Vietnam snatched 1-2.
Meanwhile, Ha Tung Lap's Vietnam side served notice they are more than a match for the Thai women with their two gold medal haul in the team and double events. Led by Luu Thi Thanh, the Vietnamese were very impressive in all three events, and only an inspired performance by Thailand captain Takan in the regu final denied them a gold medal hat-trick.
Malaysia, on the other hand, had a tournament to forget after returning home with only two silvers and a bronze.
The much-talked about new generation of stars under coach Hassan Jamaluddin failed to improve on their shock win against Thailand at the 2005 South East Asian Games in Manila, Philippines. Instead, they struggled to match the rampant Thais in both the team and regu finals.
Perhaps most disappointing was their loss to Myanmar in the semifinals of the double event, which showed just how far Malaysia have to improve to catch up with their northern neighbours.
15th Asian Games, Doha 2006
Posted December 14th, 2006 by COBA
