Thais dominate Malaysia in friendly sports

PHUKET: About 200 Malaysian immigration officers were in Phuket on Tuesday to compete in the now traditional friendly clash, the Annual Thai-Malaysian Immigration Department Games, at the Saphan Hin sport center. The games consisted of badminton, table tennis, sepak takraw, bowling, soccer and golf. The home side dominated the badminton, winning the men’s and women’s singles, the men’s doubles and the mixed doubles, leaving Malaysia with victory in the women’s doubles. The Thais excelled in the table tennis as well, winning the women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and the mixed doubles. The sepak takraw drew a closer result, with two out of the three Thai teams beating their Malaysian opponents to give the home side the winning tally. In the five-man-team bowling competition, the Malaysian men’s team beat the Thais with their score of 2,234 points. The Thai women’s team leveled the result with their winning score of 1,820 points. Where the visitors did show superiority was on the soccer pitch, where they claimed a solid 4-2 victory over the home side. The tournament ended in the spirit of the games with a friendly round of golf at the Blue Canyon Country Club. The venue for the games alternates between the two countries. Last year they were held in Penang; next year they will be held in Kuala Lumpur.