HANOI – The national under-23 football team intends to use the failure from the previous edition as a lesson as it goes in search of glory in the 31st edition of the SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam from May 12-23.
Midfielder Nik Akif Syahiran Nik Mat, who was a member of the national team who flopped at the 2019 edition in the Philippines, said Malaysia must not take any of its rivals for granted if they do not want a repeat of the Manila nightmare.
In the Manila Games, Malaysia’s challenge ended in the group stage when they finished second last and failed to advance to the knockout rounds.
Malaysia won the silver medal at the 2017 Games in Kuala Lumpur.
“We cannot take any of our opponents lightly. I hope we will all be fully focused on the task at hand and give our best,” he said today.
Fellow midfielder Muhamad Umar Hakeem Suhar Rezwan, who was also in the 2019 squad, concurred and urged his teammates to take every match seriously.
In Hanoi, Malaysia have been drawn in Group B and will open their campaign against Thailand, who have won the most number of football gold medals in the biennial Games, at Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh on Saturday (May 7).
“This Thailand team are no pushovers. Insya-Allah, we will dig deep into our resources and experience to get the better of them,” said Nik Akif.
Malaysia, who is coached by Brad Maloney, will then take on Laos on May 11, Singapore on May 14, and Cambodia on May 16 at the same venue as they seek to finish among the top two in the group and advance to the semi-finals.
Maloney had previously stated that he had not set any specific targets for his team for the Hanoi Games, but assured that he would form the best squad possible to give the other teams a good fight. – AFP, May 4, 2022
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