KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 — Malaysia emerged as Group B champions of the 2026 quarter-finals, World Cup team event after recording a stylish 3-0 victory over Myanmar in the final group match at the Titiwangsa Stadium, here, yesterday.
The victory completed the national squad’s unbeaten run at the group stage, as well as making up for the disappointment following the defeat to Myanmar in the previous group stage event.
Despite having already confirmed their place in the quarter-finals earlier, Ahmad Jais Baharun’s men still put in an energetic performance when the first squad, consisting of Zulkifli Abd Razak, Muhammad Afifuddin Mohd Razali and Aidil Aiman Azwawi, easily overcame their opponents 15-7, 15-9.
The country’s winning momentum continued in the second set through the pairing of Mohammad Syahir Mohd Rosdi, Farhan Adam and Mohamad Azlan Alias who displayed a neat game to secure a 15-11, 15-6 victory.
The country’s third squad, represented by Haziq Hairul Nizam, Muhammad Noraizat Mohd Nordin and Amirul Zazwan Amir as well as Hafizul Hayazi Adnan, also gave Myanmar no chance before winning comfortably 15-13, 15-5.
Malaysia is scheduled to face Japan in the quarter-finals tomorrow in an effort to continue their pursuit of the championship title.
Meanwhile, the country’s top killer, Mohamad Azlan, said the disappointment of failing to advance to the team final was the main factor in his team rising to win in style in their mission to advance to the quarter-finals.
He said that he and his teammates had discussed and reassessed the weaknesses in the previous squad’s actions to streamline the team’s play.
“Winning or losing, we hope this team can do better. We forget about the squad and focus on giving the best performance for the team and the country.
“We are disappointed, but we can’t think too much about it because we need to focus on the next game,” he told reporters after the match here tonight.
— BERNAMA
