THE host of the 31st SEA Games, Vietnam, is expected to put up stiff challenges in both the men and women categories in the sepak takraw event at the biennial games.

Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia (PSM) president Datuk Seri Ahmad Ismail (picture) said it is due to the fact that while the Vietnamese women’s squad is one of medal contenders alongside Thailand, the country’s men’s squad is also showing improvement to become the main challenger to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“It is understood that about eight events have been proposed to be held in Hanoi, next year. Events such as team regu, regu, team double, team quadrant, quadrant, hoop and mixed events will be contested, but there is no confirmation yet (while chinlone might also be included).

“At the last SEA Games, our women’s team was able to give fierce competition to Vietnam before losing due to their own mistakes. But we must not underestimate the Vietnamese men’s team, especially when their country is hosting. It is understood that even during Covid-19, they are training daily,” he told Bernama.

At the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines, Malaysia took home two silver medals from the men’s regu and team regu, and bronze from women’s regu. Meanwhile, at the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia won two gold, three silver and six bronze medals from 12 sepak takraw events.

Commenting on the preparations for the 2021 SEA Games and the 2022 Asian Games in China, Ahmad said PSM would determine the targets and plan more closely after analysing the level of strengths and weaknesses of the national squad compared to the opposing teams.

“We need at least one international tournament to enable us to make evaluation as tournaments and training have been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on the tournament, our technical director (Abdul Talib Ahmad) and the coaches will be responsible for formulating strategies and improving the weaknesses,” he said.

He also said for the first time, PSM will set up a women’s B team (as backup team) in January 2021 in an effort to improve player performance. — Bernama