KOTA KINABALU, Nov 3 — Malaysia booked their berth in the final of the ISTAF SuperSeries Malaysia 2013/2014 sepak takraw championship after they trounced Japan 3-0 in the semi-final at the Likas Sports Complex here this morning.

In the final later today, Malaysia will be meeting either Thailand or Indonesia, who are currently playing in the other semi-final match.

In today’s match, Malaysia’s trio of Noor Azman Hamid, Syazreen Qamar Salehan and Hanafiah Dollah were given a tough fight by Hiroki Takahashi, Tsubasa Sato and Masanori Hayashi in the beginning of the first set but in the end it was the hosts who prevailed in 15-11.

The second set saw both teams playing neck-and-neck with the score reading like 3-3, 4-4, 5 -5, 7-7 and 8-8 but from 8-8 the Malaysians sailed away to a 15-8 victory.

It was game, set and match when Malaysia overpowered Japan 15-2 in the third set to clinch a 3-0 victory en route to the final. — Bernama