Sukma XXI: Selangor men’s sepak takraw team sees silver lining despite finals loss

BINTULU (Aug 17): The Selangor men’s sepak takraw team saw a positive sign with their silver medal achievement despite losing 0-2 to Penang in the final match of the men’s team event at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) XXI Sarawak at the Muhibah Stadium today.

Team manager Dzan Hedir Amin said that although they lost in the final, the team managed to make significant improvements to secure the silver medal.

He said that their performance might have been slightly loose due to fatigue, but they accepted the result and were still happy to finish in second place.

“We did not set a medal target, but achieving this today is a great accomplishment. Every team aims for the gold medal in any event,” he said when met by the media afterwards.

He added that this is a good indicator, but there are three more events ahead where they aim to win at least one gold medal.

He noted that although their preparations were somewhat relaxed, they are confident that the combination of coaches, veteran players, and new players will help maintain their momentum.

“The Selangor team consists of a mix of old and new faces,” said Dzan, who was a former Selangor player in Sukma 1998 and 2000.

Team coach Norshahruddin Mad Ghani said they did not start their preparations early and only began seven to eight months ago due to budget constraints.

He said that they did not have existing players and had to search and select players from schools, then work on improving their performance through training.

He added that the combination of old and new players will provide the best mix, along with specialised training.

For the upcoming matches, he said, if possible, they aim to add more medals but do not want to put too much pressure on themselves and will instead focus on applying the training they have received.