Syafiq Believes He Can Steer Malaysia To Win Mother Of All Golds - Striker Syafiq Ahmad reckons that 2017 is the year for him to shine and Malaysian football to reclaim its glory.
The Penang-born player is fast emerging as the bright spark for the national Under-23 squad.
The 22-year-old played a key role in helping Malaysia qualify for the AFC Under-23 Championship Finals in China next year.
It will be Malaysia’s first-ever Finals appearance after a successful qualifying campaign in Bangkok last month.
Syafiq played in two out of the three Group A matches and managed to score a goal.
Back home, Syafiq is also on a roll in the M-League.
To date, he has scored six goals in all competitions and helped Kedah win the Charity Shield and FA Cup this year.
Last season, he played a sterling role in steering the Red Eagles to the Malaysia Cup triumph.
Now, Syafiq wants to whet his appetite further by winning the gold at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games from Aug 14-29.
“I think it’s time for Malaysian football to shine again in the SEA Games. We are hosting it at home and we are coming off from a successful AFC Under-23 qualifying campaign,” said Syafiq who has scored two goals in 11 appearances for Malaysia this year.
“The expectation is high on us to deliver the mother of all gold medals. I think we are all capable of handling the pressure. I don’t want the team to be an early casualty. We want to prove that the qualification to the 2018 AFC Under-23 Championship Finals was not a fluke.”
Malaysia, who last won the gold at the 2011 Jakarta Games, will open their Group A campaign against Brunei on Aug 14. Malaysia’s other matches are against Singapore (Aug 16), Myanmar (Aug 21) and Laos (Aug 23).
Defending champions Thailand are in Group B with Indonesia, Vietnam, Timor Leste, Cambodia and the Philippines.
Syafiq will be making his second appearance in the biennial Games after a disastrous debut in Singapore in 2015.
He played five games, scoring only a goal in the disappointing campaign as Malaysia failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time in eight years.
Syafiq and his 26 other teammates reported for training at the Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya on Sunday.
The former Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) student is glad that the team have a longer period to prepare for the Games.
The players only had five days of training under coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee before they competed in the AFC Under-23 qualifiers.
“We have two weeks to train now. We’ll focus on correcting our mistakes.
“I will be looking to improve my shooting, especially with my left leg. I want to score goals so I need to be ready to shoot whenever I get the chance,” said Syafiq.
0 comments:
Post a Comment