Youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh said MSN has approved incentives amounting to RM60,000 each for the inter-regu and doubles teams after they emerged champions while the team regu, as runners-up, received RM50,000 in the competition held at the Titiwangsa Stadium.

“The 2024 Sepak Takraw World Cup success means a lot to Malaysians and the players who worked hard to win the gold,” she told reporters at KLIA after a welcoming ceremony for the return of the para bowling squad from the 2024 World Championship in Ekurhuleni, South Africa.

On May 22, the national sepak takraw squad made history when they ended Thailand’s domination by defeating them in the finals of the inter-regu and doubles events for the first time in the competition.

Meanwhile, Yeoh said MSN is still discussing the reintroduction of sepak takraw as a core sport as requested by Malaysian Sepak Takraw Association (PSM) president Sumali Reduan.

Sepak takraw along with weightlifting and taekwondo were the three sports MSN dropped from the national core sports list in 2017, following poor performance and lack of improvement based on a review, including an in-depth study of the performance of the three sports since 2007.

Regarding PSM’s request for the construction of a special stadium for sepak takraw, Yeoh instead suggested that they along with other sports associations work with higher education institutions to use their facilities, including for training purposes.