HANOI, May 9 — Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin praised the high fighting spirit shown by the national Under-23 (U-23) squad in their match against Thailand in Group B of the men’s football competition of the 31st SEA Games here on Saturday.
Malaysia edged the more fancied opponents 2-1.
Hamidin said the determination and unyielding attitude of the national players in the clash at the Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh was the key to the success of Brad Maloney’s squad in snatching victory at the last minute.
“Success in football can come at the last minute, just like JDT (Johor Darul Ta’zim) did in the AFC Champions League group stage competition.
“This (never giving up attitude) is a good thing for national football and we expect continued support from the fans even though we know there are weaknesses here and there, but we want our country to succeed,” he said.
Hamidin, who is also Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) deputy president, said this when met at the finals of diving events involving national athletes at the My Dinh Aquatic Centre, here, yesterday.
He was also given the honour to present medals to the winners which saw Malaysia’s Nur Dhabitah Sabri and Chew Yi Wei-Ooi Tze Liang each win gold in the women’s 1 metre (m) springboard and men’s 3m springboard synchronised.
Commenting further, Hamidin hoped that the U-23 team could maintain their winning momentum when they next face Laos on May 11, Singapore (May 14) and Cambodia (May 16) in the group stage.
“Of course we and I myself want greater success in the SEA Games this time but we have to see this competition in its entirety, there are three more important matches for us to qualify for the semi-finals,” he said.
For the record, the last time Malaysia won the gold medal in men’s football in the SEA Games was in the 2011 edition in Indonesia when Datuk Ong Kim Swee was the head coach.
Malaysia’s best achievement after that was emerging runners-up and taking home the silver medal in the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur, also under Kim Swee, before being eliminated as early as the group stage in the Philippines in the 2019 edition. — Bernama
