HANOI, May 4 — The national Under-23 football team intend to use the failure from the previous edition as a lesson as they go in search of glory in the 31st edition of the SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam from May 12 to May 23.
Midfielder Nik Akif Syahiran Nik Mat, who was a member of the national team that flopped at the 2019 edition in the Philippines, said Malaysia must not take any of their 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 told Bernama 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 has 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 the Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh on Saturday (May 7).
“This Thailand team are no pushovers. InsyaAllah we will dig deep into our resources and experience to get the better of them,” said Nik Akif.
Malaysia, who are coached by Brad Maloney, will then take on Laos on May 11, Singapore (May 14) and Cambodia (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.
— Bernama
