KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Sepaktakraw Association (PSM) will maintain the "recipe" for success from the 2025 SEA Games by pinning its hopes on the same 12-men squad to take on the challenge at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, starting Sept 19.
PSM president Datuk Mohd Sumali Reduan said the move was taken given that all the involved players are at their peak performance level and possess extensive experience to perform on the highest stage.
He stressed that the games in Aichi-Nagoya is not a place to conduct any tests or experiments with young players, as the team's main mission is to hunt for gold.
"The reason is these players are currently in top form. There is no reason for us to turn them down. They have proven themselves, they played in the SEA Games, wherever they play, in terms of mental strength and experience, they are very strong. Very strong. Because you must remember this is a very major multi-sport event.
"The Asian Games is not a testing ground. This is not a ground for us to experiment. Allowing young kids to play cannot be done. This is the ground where we want to win medals. We want to get gold," he said during a press conference announcing the Asian Games squad, here, tonight.
He said PSM refuses to take risks by giving last-minute exposure to young players, considering the expectations placed by all Malaysians are extremely high.
"That is why we must list, we must list those 12 as among the very best of the best. And we cannot take the risk of putting two or three new young kids to give them exposure. We cannot. Because this is the Asian Games.
"Because this expectation is not my expectation, this expectation is the country's expectation. The country's expectation of wanting that gold shine means we certainly have to send those we are confident can deliver a performance that we truly know can secure a gold medal. That's all," he said.
The national men's squad will participate in two categories: team regu and regu.
Here is the list of players for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games:
TEKONG: Syahir Rosdi, Haziq Hairul Nizam, Zulkifli Razak, and Zarif Marican Ibrahim Marican
FEEDER & KILLER: Azlan Alias, Noraizat Nordin, Afifuddin Razali, and Hafizul Hayazi Adnan, Farhan Adam, Amirul Zazwan Amir, Aidil Aiman Azwawi, and Zuleffendi Sumari
HEAD COACH: Ahmad Jais Baharun
-- BERNAMA