KUALA LUMPUR – The national women’s sepak takraw squad is at risk of a reshuffle if they fail to achieve good results at the King’s Cup Championship, scheduled to take place in Korat this Sunday.
Malaysian Sepak Takraw Association (PSM) president, Datuk Sumali Reduan, revealed that he is considering making changes, given that the women’s team has struggled to bring success in recent years.
The team failed to progress beyond the group stages at the Asian Games in Incheon 2014 and Jakarta/Palembang 2018. Furthermore, the national women’s squad did not compete in the 2022 edition in Hangzhou last October.
On the SEA Games front, the women’s squad’s best achievement was securing a silver medal in the team regu event at the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur.
Therefore, the mission in Korat this weekend will be crucial to determine whether the current roster of players will be retained or dropped.
“I might (make changes); I’m thinking about it, reviewing, and waiting for the performance of the women’s squad in the King’s Cup. If they still can’t deliver results or show exceptional performance, I’ll implement the changes.
“Those who perform well and show outstanding performance, we’ll retain them if necessary, and for the others, we’ll need to find replacements unless they’ve already reached a high level.
“But if you ask me, I strongly believe that we need new female players to restart this team; we need to start afresh.
“That’s why I’ve sent a scouting team to look for new talents during the recent Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak, and we already have a list of players in reserve.
“We will continue this talent search; there might be hidden talents out there, perhaps in Sabah or Sarawak, as well as other obstacles like careers, being married, and so on,” said Sumali at a meet-and-greet event with the players in Kuala Lumpur today.
The national women’s squad will compete in three events at the King’s Cup, including the team regu, quadrant, and, for the first time, the mixed quadrant.
Malaysia face a tough challenge in the team regu event, where they will go up against the host nation, Thailand, in Group A, along with China and Myanmar.
In the quadrant event, Malaysia will compete against Laos, China, Cambodia, and Vietnam in Group A.
As for the mixed quadrant, Malaysia have been drawn into Group A alongside Vietnam, Laos and India. – August 28, 2024