DBasia.news – KUALA LUMPUR: Director of the Under-23 squad, Datuk Ong Kim Swee confirmed his decision to summon four new players in the central training session this Monday, as a first step in the possibilities.
Based on a short time ahead of the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games next month, he does not want his preparation to be disturbed if the players get injured at the last minute or if the teams cannot be released in time.
“Four players that were called are Adib Zainudin (Johor Darul Ta’zim II), Akhyar Rashid (Kedah), Kogileswaran Raj (Pahang) and Syahmi Safari (Selangor) to share with 24 players previously listed.
“The purpose of calling four players is to choose the best players and if there are players injured when reporting on Monday, the player will be dropped immediately. The time frame is important to me and if I can get as many players as I can, I do not have to worry about other problems, “he told NSTP Sports today.
Adib, Akhyar, Kogileswaran and Syahmi have been in the preparations and their presence will give a fierce rival to grab the place in the final 20-player squad to the Games.
The four players are not strangers in the B-23 squad when it was the milestone for Malaysia to advance to the quarter-finals of the AFC B-23 Championship in China in January.
Earlier, Kim Swee expressed concern over the possibility that players would not get a break as the Asian Games dates to the Malaysia Cup campaign.
The former national coach said it is likely that only 25 out of 28 players will be brought to China on August 2 for a friendly match.
“It’s important for me to collect as many players by this Monday, where we do not have much time to train when we travel to China on August 2 and we are likely to continue to Bandung to face the Asian Games.
“From China, those players that were dropped will go back to Kuala Lumpur while others will continue to Bandung,” said Kim Swee.
Malaysia faces challenging tasks in the Asian Games campaign on Aug 10 when voted against defending champions South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and Bahrain in Group E.