SELANGOR: Sarawak’s women’s rugby team have been reinstated into the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) XXII gold-medal match after their protest against Terengganu for fielding an unregistered player in today’s (Aug 23) semi-final was unanimously upheld.
Sarawak had initially lost the women’s Cup semi-final 22-5 to Terengganu and were due to face Sabah in the bronze-medal playoff later this afternoon.
However, Sarawak subsequently lodged a protest over Terengganu’s decision to field a player who was not registered for the match.
The SUKMA XXII Rugby Sevens Competition Protest Committee convened at 11.40am today to consider the protest and related matters.
Following its deliberations, the committee unanimously accepted Sarawak’s protest and overturned the outcome of the semi-final.
Sarawak were instead awarded a 20-0 victory over Terengganu, sending them through to the women’s Cup final and putting the state back in contention for gold.
The committee said the decision took effect immediately.
Terengganu, meanwhile, have been allowed to continue in the competition and will face Sabah in the bronze-medal match at 3.40pm.
Sarawak will now face Selangor for the gold medal at 4.30pm.
The dramatic reversal comes just hours after Sarawak head coach Sylvia Alexander Lian had turned her attention towards recovering from the semi-final defeat and preparing her players for what was then expected to be a bronze-medal playoff.
She had praised her players for raising their performance against Terengganu despite the defeat, saying they had “played on a different level” and increased the speed of their game.
Instead of fighting for bronze, however, Sarawak now have an unexpected second chance – with the SUKMA title on the line against Selangor.
