KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — Defending champions Malaysia suffered a major blow to their hopes of retaining the gold medal after losing 1-2 to arch rival Thailand in their opening preliminary match of the 9th Asean Para Games 5-a-side football competition held at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil, here today.
Thailand took the lead in the 5th minute through Kittikorn Baodee before Muhamad Azuan Abdul Rasiad equalised for Malaysia in the 16th minute but Kittikorn was once again on target for Thailand in the 29th minute to collect all three points.
Coach Sunny Shalesh when met by reporters after the match said skipper Mohamad Amirul Arif Mahadhir’s decision to hold on to the ball too long resulted in Kittikorn wresting the ball from him to score Thailand’s winning goal.
“Holding on to the ball can result in such mistakes and Kittikorn was quick to pounce on such opportunities. I hope we will not make such mistakes against Vietnam in our next match tomorrow. In terms of skills, both teams were equal,” he said.
Mohamad Amirul who had been instrumental in Malaysia winning the gold medal at the 2015 Asean Para Games hosted by Singapore, admitted that he and his team mates had difficulty adapting to the wet and slippery pitch because the team had trained at a different venue which was dry and hard.
“I am a little disappointed with the result today but we will remain positive when facing Vietnam tomorrow,” he said.
Meanwhile, Laos pulled off a major upset by beating 2015 bronze medal winner Vietnam 4-1 at the same venue.
Based on the format of the competition, the top two teams in the round robin competition that features four countries, will meet in the final. — Bernama
