Bunga Raya sevens squad finish strong at Mizuho Park

NAGOYA: The men's national rugby sevens squad concluded the competition in fifth place at Mizuho Park on Saturday, securing a commendable fifth position in the men's event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. This result marked their best-ever placing since the 2018 Indonesia Games. Despite their loss to eventual champions Hong Kong in the quarter-finals by a score of 50-0 on Friday, the team began their final day with a strong 33-5 victory over the United Arab Emirates.

Following this, Malaysia triumphed over the Philippines with a score of 34-7, ultimately claiming the fifth-place spot in the overall standings. The Philippines had previously defeated Sri Lanka by 33-12. Nik Safuan Ismade, the team's coach, commended his injury-prone squad for their outstanding performances against the two challenging teams.

He emphasized that their successful execution of tactics and minimal mistakes played a significant role in their victory. Both Hong Kong and Japan achieved gold medals in the men's tournament, with Hong Kong defeating China 26-0 in the final. Meanwhile, Japan secured the bronze after defeating South Korea 17-5 in the third-place playoff.

Malaysia's overall standing in the women's tournament was eighth, as they lost to Kazakhstan and Singapore in their fifth-eighth place classification matches. Japan claimed the women's gold after defeating China 10-5, while Hong Kong took the bronze after defeating Thailand 7-5.