NATIONAL sepak takraw team head coach Ahmad Jais Baharun admitted that the national squad are still not strong enough in the team regu after losing to Thailand in the final of the event in the 2025 Asian Sepak Takraw Cup today.
According to Ahmad Jais, he accepted the defeat but will conduct a thorough evaluation to ensure the national team can overcome their arch rivals in future tournaments.
“Personally, I see that our team are still not quite good enough. I feel our team need to double their efforts to contain Thailand’s attacks.
“If we look at Thailand’s performance, they played with more precision in both attack and defence. That, I think, is what sets us apart from the Thai team,” he said when met by the media after the final at Titiwangsa Stadium here.
Earlier, in the team regu final of the 2025 Asian Cup, the national squad had to concede a 0-2 defeat to Thailand, once again failing to end Malaysia’s 34-year drought against the Thais in the team regu event.
The first national regu trio, Amirul Zazwan Amir (left flank), Mohammad Syahir Mohd Rosdi (tekong) and Mohamad Azlan Alias (right flank), lost 11-15, 15-12, 15-17 to the Thai trio.
The second regu, consisting of Farhan Adam, Muhammad Haziq Hairul Nizam and Muhammad Noraizat Mohd Nordin, who were counted on to revive Malaysia’s hopes in the final, also failed to deliver victory after going down 15-13, 13-15, 4-15.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Jais said that although he was disappointed not to clinch victory in the team regu event, he expressed gratitude to his players who gave their best in the final.
“The players gave their all and we must accept this result with an open heart. We need to work even harder to improve the quality of play in the future,” he said.
