Ayzek expressed gratitude and belief ahead of the semi-finals.
“First of all, I’m very grateful to have made it to the semi-finals tomorrow. I want to thank everyone who has been praying for us, especially my parents and all Malaysians.
“For tomorrow’s match, I will give everything I have to try and win Malaysia’s first petanque gold at the SEA Games in Thailand.
“I previously won a bronze medal in the triples event at the Vietnam SEA Games, but this partnership with Afikah is actually very new. With such a short time together, it was not easy to build chemistry, but we’ve worked hard throughout training to develop that understanding as quickly as possible.”
Regardless of the outcome, their achievement already surpasses Malaysia’s showing in the previous edition, where the mixed doubles event ended without a medal.
The men’s doubles team of Helmi Mat Daud–Ahmad Safuan Ibrahim and the women’s pairing of Nur Alya Farzana Rushazlir Effendy–Siti Noor Ellyshatul Balqish Suhaimi bowed out after the preliminary phase, but the squad remains well positioned overall with multiple medal opportunities still ahead.
National coach Wahadhir Hamdan expressed satisfaction with the team’s progress and noted the contrasting fortunes across the doubles categories.
“Our men’s and women’s doubles were unfortunate today. Their level of play wasn’t the same as in the opening match — they gave very good resistance early on, but in the following games we struggled to find our rhythm,” he said.
“For the mixed doubles, we will meet the Philippines in the semi-finals tomorrow. The bronze is already secured, now it’s just a matter of trying to change it to brighter colour.”
Malaysia will also open their challenge in two mixed triples events tomorrow morning (12 December), adding further medal avenues for the squad.
All eyes will be on the experienced trio of Syed Akmal Fikri Syed Ali, Saiful Bahri Musmin and Sharifah Aqilah Farhana Syed Ali, whose blend of experience, tactical maturity and competitive temperament makes them one of Malaysia’s strongest prospects in the discipline.
The second mixed triples team — Nur Thahira Tasnim Abdul Aziz, Siti Asiah Zaini and Mohamad Shah Ismail — will also begin their preliminary rounds at the same 9.30am session, looking to make a strong impression.
As Malaysia look to continue building momentum in Pathum Thani, the squad remains firmly on track in pursuit of the four-medal mission, with two medals secured and several events still to unfold.
