KUALA LUMPUR – National sepak takraw head coach Ahmad Jais Baharun remains on high alert as their nemesis, Thailand, have made the surprising decision not to field a team in the regu event at the upcoming King’s Cup Sepak Takraw World Championship, which begins tomorrow in Korat.
Instead, Thailand, under the direction of Suphot Tumpracha and the reigning champion in the regu, have strategically shifted their focus to the team regu, as well as the quadrant, mixed quadrant and hoop events.
Jais believes Thailand are highly determined to avenge their defeat to Malaysia during the Istaf World Cup held in May.
At that time, Malaysia made history by winning both the regu and doubles events at the World Cup. However, the doubles will not be contested at the King’s Cup.
This situation is particularly concerning for Malaysia, as the team will be heading to Korat without their key tekong, Syahir Rosdi, who is sidelined for an extended period due to a hamstring injury, along with Baihakki Aripin, who is dealing with a ligament issue in his left leg.
“I’m aware that the team event will be a tough challenge, especially with Thailand not participating in the regu event.
“I feel a great responsibility to secure the championship in this event, but we remain confident that we can deliver our best performance based on our training.
“In my view, if we can replicate the level of play we’ve shown during practice, it’s not impossible for the championship to be ours.
“Looking at Thailand’s line-up, they’ve also faced injuries, which has led to changes in their players. Regardless of who represents Thailand, we must strive to be competitive, particularly in front of their home crowd,” Jais told Scoop.
Additionally, for the first time, Malaysia will be competing in the mixed quadrant event at the King’s Cup.
However, given that this is Malaysia’s debut in the event, the expectations are not as high compared to other events.
“We were originally supposed to participate in this event at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, scheduled for November.
“Our participation in this tournament was meant as preparation for that championship, which would have offered eight gold medals, while the non-mixed events featured only two.
“However, after we finalised our participation in the King’s Cup, the organisers of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games informed us that the event was cancelled.
“As a result, we couldn’t withdraw, so we decided to proceed with the mixed quadrant in Korat, especially since all the preparations were already in place,” he added. – August 31, 2024