| Universiti Putra Malaysia

UPM made history at Arafura Games, Darwin, bagging two golds through Sepak Takraw

By Amin Mustafha

 

DARWIN, Australia - Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Sepak Takraw team won two gold medals through doubles and Regu events at the Arafura Games 2019 here.

UPM team made history when they emerged as the champions for both doubles and Regu events. UPM first took part in the Sepak Takraw championship during the Arafura Games in 2011 and lost to Thailand in the final.

UPM defeated University National Jakarta Indonesia in the doubles event finals, while for the Regu event, UPM beat Singapore.

The Games started on April 30 and ended on May 4, 2019.

At the doubles event grouping level, UPM beat Australia B, Indonesia B, Philippines and Singapore A to be the group winner.

For the Regu event grouping level, UPM had a victory over Australia A, The Philippines, India and National Jakarta University, Indonesia.

Countries like Indonesia, Singapore and Australia took part in Sepak Takraw championship with two teams, while India, The Philippines and Malaysia with only one.

UPM team comprised Mohamad Suhairi Sulaiman, Meor Mohd Zulfikar Mat Amin, Mohamad Danial Baharin, Wan Muhamad Anas Muhaimi Wan Mohd Asri, and Muhamad Lutfi Hadi Azmi, while Shahrulnizar Nurhalim was the manager and Mohamad Razizi Midin was the coach.

All UPM athletes are full-time students and players of 2018 Sepak Takraw National League (STL).

The participation of the UPM Sepak Takraw team in the Arafura Games 2019 is part of the UPM Sepak Takraw development programme for 2019 and in preparation for the Malaysian University Sports Council (MASUM) Championship and the 2019 National Sepak Takraw League Championship.

UPM team would also take part in the other two international series championships in Thailand and Indonesia.

The organiser of Arafura Games 2019 was the Northern Territory Government, Darwin, Australia. A total of 1,500 athletes from various countries competed in the Games including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, The Philippines, China, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, Cambodia, Samoa, Austria, Canada, Taiwan, Cook Islands, Czech Republic, England, Fiji, Hong Kong China, Hungary, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Macau China, Malta, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Ukraine , UAE, The United States of America, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam and of course the host, Australia.

The Arafura Games 2019 featured 17 sport disciplines for athletes to compete in which included athletics, badminton, basketball, 3 x 3 pro hustle, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, boxing, football, Muaythai, netball, sailing, swimming, squash, table tennis, tennis, Sepak Takraw and weightlifting. The organiser also incorporated para events such as para-athletics, para-swimming, para-tennis and para-table tennis for disabled athletes. – UPM

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