SHAH ALAM, After having to settle for second place at the 2022 Malaysia Games (SUKMA), the Selangor women’s rugby squad are optimistic that they can make up for the disappointment and collect the gold medal at the biennial competition in Sarawak next month.
Selangor coach Mohammad Faiz Samsukhidir said taking lessons from the previous edition, the coaching staff have worked hard to strengthen the team by recruiting new and faster players, especially those who have the ability in terms of speed and physical strength.
He said a lack of players with speed was identified as one of the factors attributing to the failure of the Selangor women’s rugby team to fulfill their dream of winning the gold medal at the SUKMA two years ago.
‘The significant difference between the current squad and the 2022 squad is speed. Now the team have several players who can act as sprinters instead of just one in the 2022 squad.
‘With that advantage as well as a stronger line-up of players and also a relatively balanced blend betw
een the main and reserve players, we are confident that this squad are now up to speed to erase the failure of the last Games,’ he told Bernama.
At SUKMA 2022, the Selangor women’s rugby squad lost 12-17 in the final to Kedah.
On team preparations, Mohammad Faiz said all the players have displayed high commitment in training and are physically and mentally ready to start the gold hunt at the Games which will run from Aug 17 to 24.
He said the main constraint was the relatively limited training time given that almost 80 per cent of the players are students, six of whom have to face the SPM (Form Five exam) this year.
‘I am confident the girls are capable of putting up a formidable challenge and speed will be the main weapon in the team in succeeding in the mission to win the gold medal,’ said Mohammad Faiz, expecting fierce competition from the Sarawak, Labuan and Terengganu teams.
In addition to rugby, Selangor, which have emerged as overall champions nine times, are aiming for 61 gold medals in this edi
tion with swimming, athletics, archery, tennis and badminton as the main stronghold for raking in medals.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
