Malaysia take sixth in Colombo leg of Asian Rugby Sevens Series
The men's side reached the quarter-finals with a largely teenage squad, while Malaysia's women ended the tournament in ninth place.
Malaysia ended the men's competition in sixth place at the Asian Rugby Sevens Series stop in Colombo, losing the fifth-place play-off 33-5 to Sri Lanka. Their quarter-final appearance met the target set by Nik Safuan Ismade Nik Man.
Nik said several core players could not make the trip. Most of those selected were aged 18 to 19, with the tournament intended to give them experience of competing at that level. He said the squad had aimed to defeat Uzbekistan and progress to the last eight.
Group-stage defeats against Thailand, 21-15, and Japan, 54-5, preceded Malaysia's 31-12 victory over Uzbekistan. Hong Kong then knocked Malaysia out of the cup competition with a 78-0 quarter-final result.
Malaysia subsequently defeated South Korea 42-17 in a classification fixture, setting up the meeting with the hosts.
At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the men's squad had placed fifth, matching their highest finish, recorded at Indonesia 2018. Numerous players sustained knocks and injuries during the Games.
In the women's competition, Malaysia claimed ninth place through classification wins against Sri Lanka, 10-5, and Uzbekistan, 20-12. Those results followed three group-stage losses: 55-0 to Hong Kong, 39-0 to Thailand and 19-0 to Singapore.
