KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia may have begun their Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games sepak takraw campaign with a 3-0 victory over Japan, but national head coach Ahmad Jais Baharun believes his players still have areas to improve before their next Group B match against the Philippines tomorrow.
Despite being satisfied with the team’s overall display, Ahmad Jais said several individual shortcomings were exposed during the opening tie and must be addressed to ensure Malaysia can sustain their momentum.
“Overall, if we look at the players’ performance, we were quite consistent in the first two sets, although there were several mistakes that we need to rectify, particularly in the first set involving Syahir Rosdi, Farhan Adam and Azlan Alias.
“Farhan was still trying to find his rhythm in the first set, but we managed to improve that in the second. Syahir contributed a lot of points through his serves, while Azlan was consistent in both attack and defence,” he told Scoop when contacted.
The second regu comprising Zulkifli Razak (Sobey), Aidil Aiman Azwawi and Afifudin Razali emerged as Malaysia’s most reliable combination, with Ahmad Jais praising their understanding and consistency throughout the match.
The trio displayed composure in both attacking and defensive situations, with Sobey proving particularly effective in the opening set through his fast and drop serves.
“If we look at this regu, they did not face any problems in terms of attack or defence. Their understanding was clearly good and they maintained their momentum.
“Especially in terms of Sobey’s attack in the first set, he collected a lot of points through his fast serves and drop serves. For me, this is actually our anchor regu in terms of consistency,” he said.
However, the third regu faced early difficulties after Haziq Hairul Nizam struggled with his serves, prompting Ahmad Jais to make an immediate tactical adjustment.
Haziq committed four consecutive service errors, leading to his replacement by Zarif Merican Ibrahim, who joined Amirul Zazwan Amir and Hafizul Hayazi Adnan.
The change helped stabilise Malaysia’s performance as the new combination recovered from losing the opening set to win the regu tie and complete the 3-0 sweep.
“For the third regu, particularly Haziq, his start was disappointing as he made four consecutive service errors. That was an indication that he was not ready for the first match this morning.
“We took Haziq out first so that he could settle down, and brought in Zarif, who we felt could make an impact and strengthen the team,” Ahmad Jais said.
With Malaysia now needing one more win to strengthen their position in Group B, Ahmad Jais said changes could be considered for the match against the Philippines as he seeks to keep the squad fresh while maintaining their performance level.
He added that adjustments to the line-up may be made to give Malaysia the best opportunity to secure a second consecutive victory. — September 20, 2026