KUALA LUMPUR – Indonesia were forced to make a comeback against the Philippines to keep their Sepak Takraw World Cup campaign alive in the doubles premier event at Stadium Titiwangsa today.
The stakes were high for Indonesia’s duo of Muhammad Hardiansyah Muliang and Rusdi – the reigning SEA Games gold medallists – after losing their opening match to Myanmar yesterday.
A Group C clash defeat would have seen the Indonesians exit the tournament early.
They did not help their case after losing 7-15 in the first set to the Philippines’ pair Jason D. Huerte and Rheyjey C. Ortouste, the bronze medallists in Phnom Penh last year.
However, the Indonesian duo managed to gather themselves in the second set to win 15-7.
With each team having won a set, the third game was a nail-biting affair both pairs traded points until Indonesia called for a timeout at 14-12, presumably for coach Harsono Abdulatif Taha to keep his players focused.
It did not go as planned for Indonesia as Huerte and Ortouste kept their composure to level the game at 16-16.
Rusdi then executed a rolling spike to seal the match 17-16 in under an hour, sending Indonesia to the quarter-finals.
“It was a really tight game, and we just tried to get one point at a time to win. We will prepare accordingly in the quarter-finals.
“We are the defending SEA Games gold medallists in the doubles. Of course, we want to make our country proud by winning the World Cup,” said 24-year-old Rusdi. – May 20, 2024