Maldives' Ize Sports Club achieves runner-up in Asian Tennis Ball Cricket Championship, defeating cricket powerhouses

Captain Muhammad Shiyam of Ize Sports Club stated that defeating cricket's renowned nations by competing in the Asian Tennis Ball Cricket Championship is the greatest achievement. Maldives' Ize Sports Club has won the runner-up position in this tournament. Many countries well-known for cricket have competed in this tournament involving 13 nations, including India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The Maldivian team returned to Malé on Friday with complete success. Speaking to PSM News while waiting at Velana International Airport after arriving in Malé, Shiyam said that the greatest achievement was defeating cricket's renowned nations. Shiyam described winning the runner-up position in an international tournament as a very great joy for a country like Maldives with few resources. 'The tournament proceeded with matches played consecutively for three days. The Ize team has defeated cricket's renowned nations. When we went there and stepped onto the field, everyone accepted that since Maldives is a small country, it would not achieve much in the tournament. However, the team has bravely defeated strong India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UAE and Uzbekistan,' Shiyam said. While Ize Sports Club secured the runner-up position, they lost to Bahrain in the final by a margin of 21 runs. Maldives traveled to the final after defeating neighbor Sri Lanka by 9 runs in the semi-final. The Maldivian squad competing in the championship includes 14 players and 5 officials. This is a tournament with a long history of 70 years, and teams from various countries compete every year. The tournament took place from October 26 to 29 in Chennai, India.