80 Per Cent Young Athletes For Sea Games In Hanoi - Malaysia's PSM

KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Sepaktakraw Association (PSM) will be looking to send 80 per cent of young athletes as part of the national squad to help contribute medals at the SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, which takes place from May 12 to 23. PSM assistant secretary Yusoff Ali said a total of 24 players comprising 12 men and 12 women would be competing at the Games under category A, whose expenses would be fully borne by the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM). He said the full list of players under the age of 23 had been sent to OCM for evaluation purposes before they were eligible to participate in the biennial games. "The list of players has not been finalised because the selection can still be made through the Sepak Takraw League (STL) tournament which is currently underway. "They will be placed together with senior players to provide balance in the squad to face the better teams," he told reporters after the SEA Games Selection Committee Meeting here Wednesday. Yusoff said 80 per cent quota for young talent for the Games in Hanoi would indirectly give the youngsters a chance to compete after a two-year hiatus at the international level following the COVID-19 outbreak. He said PSM also wished to see the SEA Games as a launching pad for the international career of young talents in sepak takraw over the next four to five years. Asked about the medal target, he said it was hoped the men’s team would bring home two silver and a bronze medal, while two bronze was the target for the women’s team. -- BERNAMA