ASIAN PETANQUE CHAMPIONSHIP: MALAYSIA SECURE SILVER IN JUNIOR MIXED TRIPLES ON FINAL DAY

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 (Bernama) -- Malaysia wrapped up the 6th Asian Petanque Championship by clinching silver in the junior mixed triples event at the Kuala Lumpur Petanque Arena today.

The Malaysia A team, consisting of Muhammad Aidil Zakri Junaidi, Muhammad Arsyad Muhammad Tajuddin, Nur Erissya Najwa Mohd Helmey, and Siti Noor Ellyshatul Balqish Suhaimi, had to concede to the strength of Thailand A, comprising Suekam Panadda, Nilnangngam Thanyalak, Saharat Aramrod, and Titthiwarakorn, who won convincingly 13-2 in the final.

Muhammad Arsyad admitted that today’s performance was less than satisfactory and fell short compared to their 13-9 victory over Taiwan in yesterday’s semifinals.

“It’s disappointing not to win as we were just one step away from the gold. We did our best, but what we tried didn’t work out, and the opponents played very well,” he told reporters.

Although they missed the chance to bring home gold, national junior team coach Mohamad Nuzul Azwan Ahmad Temizi said the team’s achievement was still commendable considering the squad was only formed in July.

“Our preparation only took two months, and we didn’t have full training sessions, most of which were conducted online. Moreover, the Thai team had a player who is a junior world champion (Saharat) and has extensive international exposure,” he said.

In addition to the junior mixed triples silver, Malaysia also won two more silver medals in the women’s and junior women’s precision shooting events, as well as three bronze medals in the men’s and women’s triples and men’s precision shooting events during the four-day championship that began last Thursday.

-- BERNAMA