Marsiling Secondary School clinch B Div sepak takraw title

For one whole year, Muhammad Herzy Khaliff waited for his moment of redemption.

On March 7, 2024, he was in the Marsiling Secondary School team who lost 2-0 to Woodlands Secondary in the National School Games B Division sepak takraw final.

That defeat at the Yio Chu Kang Sports Hall hurt Herzy, who admitted to crying after his hopes of winning gold were dashed.

Having clinched back-to-back C Division titles in 2022 and 2023 with the school, Herzy, who is taking his O levels in 2025, was determined not to let his student-athlete career end on a losing note.

On March 10, just over a year after that defeat, Herzy was back at the same venue, but this time there was a different ending as the 15-year-old captained his school to the B Division title with a 2-1 victory against Naval Base Secondary School.

Herzy, who was jumping for joy as he was surrounded by his teammates after the win, said: "Last year hurt us so much. I was crying and crying and I even had to skip school the next few days because I just did not want to leave home. It was painful because we trained so hard to win, but we couldn't do it.

"This year was really about redemption for us. The Secondary 4 boys all told ourselves that we must end off as champions because, for many of us, this was the last chance and I am so proud of everyone for achieving this."

Herzy, who credited coach Jamaluddin Suaip and the team's teachers-in-charge Rahidah Tajammul Shah and Khusairi Shahlan for their support and motivation, looked fired up as he and two teammates started strongly in the opening regu, winning 15-9, 15-11 in 30 minutes.

It was a tighter contest in the second regu as Naval Base clawed back to restore parity with a 15-13, 12-15, 15-12 victory.

With both sets of supporters cheering their teams on from the stands, it was Marsiling who held their nerve on court to win the third regu 17-15, 11-15, 15-10 and claim the title.

Herzy, who plays as a striker, said: "My teammates and I were very nervous coming into the game because there was a lot of pressure, from ourselves and also in not wanting to let our school and friends down.

"We got off to a good start and, even when we lost the second game, we were confident in our teammates."

Meanwhile, Woodlands won the third-place play-off with a 2-1 win over Northlight School.

Marsiling's victory was their second B Division title after 2022. They have also consistently finished in the top four since 2021, an impressive feat given that the school started sepak takraw as a co-curricular activity only in 2020.

Marsiling coach Jamaluddin, 57, who has been a sepak takraw coach since 1998, said: "The message this year was to tell the players to be more focused and not make the silly mistakes that I felt we made in last year's final. They worked hard as a group and deserve this win."

Khusairi said that of the 18-man squad, half were from the 2024 B Division team and they had all shown their commitment to the cause by barely missing any training sessions.

He added: "They were all very determined to learn from their mistakes and vowed to improve themselves and we saw that in training.

"The final proved to be the toughest game of the season and they all showed resilience to come through as champions."

For Naval Base Secondary, it will be case of remembering the lessons of the defeat, said their coach Roslan Jantan, who views reaching the final as a step-up after not progressing from the preliminary round in 2024.

Still, several of their players were inconsolable after the loss.

Roslan said: "We did our best today and I told the players that it is not always about winning. What matters is that the players always remember to be good humans and continue to enjoy the sport."