SEPANG – The eRimau e-sports squad aims to advance to the top 16 at the AFC eAsian Cup 2023, which will be held for the first time from February 1 to 5 at the Doha Festival City Mall, Doha, Qatar.
eRimau squad coach Shaharil Shaifuddin Shaharuddin said the target was considered realistic based on the current performance of the national squad during the central training camp.
“Our friendly results were quite good during the previous training camp, in which we played against India and Vietnam and won.
“For starters, we want to get through the group stage first, and then we will focus on the next stages,” he told reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport today before departing for Doha to compete in the tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation in conjunction with the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023.
Commenting further, Shaharil said their main challenger at the group stage would be Jordan, but he did not want to underestimate the abilities of South Korea and Bahrain.
“Jordan will likely be the strongest challenger because they have players who were world champions last year. But we are always optimistic because we will be playing in a two vs two format rather than relying on a single player, so chances are open to any team,” he said.
Meanwhile, national player Mohamad Nor Haikal Mohamad Noh is optimistic that positive results can be achieved with his partner, Muhamad Khairul Abdul Aziz, considering that they have been together for more than five years.
Malaysia will open the campaign against Jordan on February 1 before concluding the group E action against Bahrain and South Korea on February 2.
The teams that finish in the top two positions in each group, along with the four (out of six) best third-placed teams, will make it to the knockout rounds. – January 30, 2024