Sepak Takraw: World Champs Thailand Among 15 Countries Confirmed For 2025 Asia Cup

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 (Bernama) -- Fifteen countries, including world champions Thailand, have confirmed their participation in the 2025 Asia Cup Sepaktakraw Championships at the Titiwangsa Stadium here in May.

Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia (PSM) president Datuk Mohd Sumali Reduan said the other countries confirmed for the inaugural edition of the Asia Cup are Malaysia, India, Singapore, Brunei, Iraq, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Pakistan and the Philippines.

"Yesterday, we held a meeting on the 2025 Asia Cup with several ASTAF (Asian Sepaktakraw Federation) executive council members to decide on certain matters, including team participation.

"We finalised the 15 teams and, as everyone knows, the Asia Cup will have four events - regu (mandatory), doubles, quadrant and team.

"We have nine teams competing in the quadrant event, seven in doubles and eight in the team event,” he told a media conference here today.

Mohd Sumali said PSM had also proposed to ASTAF and ISTAF (International Sepaktakraw Federation) regarding the 'challenge’ system in international tournaments, where each team is allowed two challenges per match.

The current system is such that teams will lose their challenge even if the referee's decision is proven incorrect, unlike in badminton, where challenges are retained in such cases.

"I'm proposing that a team will have two challenges remaining if a referee's decision is proven incorrect,” he said.

-- BERNAMA