Coach Blames Players' Lack Of Confidence For Loss To Thailand In King's Cup Final
He said that his men, who are capable of playing much better, lacked confidence in themselves, and this led to their defeat.
'Personally, the players did not perform up to expectations in the final… they did not capitalise on their chances when they went ahead, and that allowed our opponents to catch up and put us under pressure.
bootstrap slideshow
'That is what we need to work on ahead of the SEA Games at the end of this year," he said when contacted by Bernama today.
Yesterday, the national side lost 2-0 to arch-rivals Thailand in the team regu final of the 2025 Thai King's Cup at the Central Hatyai shopping centre in Songkhla.
The defeat means Malaysia's 34-year wait for victory in the team regu event continues, with their last win coming in the 1991 SEA Games in Manila.
Ahmad Jais, however, is not about to press the panic button as he has only had a short time to prepare the players for the Thai King's Cup.
With a few more months to go to the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand, he plans to use the time left to draw up a more effective strategy so that his men can be competitive at the biennial Games.
'For the Thai King's Cup, we only had a week to whip the team into shape. However, I don't want to use that as an excuse or reason for our lacklustre performance.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
33 minutes ago
- The Star
Checkmate, Li Tian emerges as first chess Grandmaster
KUALA LUMPUR: For the first time in the nation's history, Malaysia can proudly call one of its own a Grandmaster, the highest title awarded in the world of chess. Yeoh Li Tian, a 25-year-old prodigy from Petaling Jaya, officially earned the coveted title after securing his third norm and surpassing the 2500 FIDE rating mark by winning the GM-IM Invitational Chess Championship yesterday. The title, awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), is a lifelong honour and places Li Tian among an elite group of fewer than 2,000 Grandmasters worldwide. Li Tian, who began playing chess at the age of three, admitted that his journey was long and grueling, marked by sacrifices and perseverance. "I always tell people that I have no childhood. So I guess that that will be my biggest sacrifice. Since young, like even in primary school, I go to school, come back, do my homework and then I start working on chess,' he said. When asked about achieving the title on home soil, he said the moment was even more meaningful after narrowly missing the opportunity during the 2022 SEA Games in Hanoi. "I felt really relieved and happy to actually get my last norm back in Malaysia. I hope that it inspires more chess players to play chess,' he added. Looking ahead, Li Tian remains uncertain about his next steps but hinted that he might compete in the upcoming SEA Games in Thailand at the end of this year. "Malaysia Chess Federation (MCF) already approached me for this SEA Games. I think there's a high chance that I will be playing,' he said. Meanwhile, MCF president Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi described Li Tian's achievement as a historic milestone in the nation's chess history. He added that the MCF is now more determined than ever to nurture and produce more Malaysian Grandmasters, with the goal of elevating and strengthening the local chess scene. "I feel the achievement is a new positive and healthy development for the game of chess in the country. "We do not want this achievement to stop here and if can, we want more Grandmasters from Malaysia to emerge, just like ehat has been produced by neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines,' he said. - Bernama


The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Son of Perak's Sultan Nazrin's among participants of jellyfish-hit swim event
IPOH: The son of Perak Ruler Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah was among the participants of a recent swimming competition at Teluk Senangin in Lumut where several students were stung by jellyfish. Event organiser AMMJB Swimmers Event & Clinics posted on Facebook that Raja Kecil Besar Raja Azlan Muzzaffar Shah, who participated in the 3km men's junior 12-19 age group category, only suffered minor injuries and is in good condition. "He is in good condition and healthy despite a minor injury on his hand due to a jellyfish sting. "Any allegations that he suffered serious injuries or that can tarnish the good name of the royal institution are baseless and an attempt to cause confusion and discredit the competition," it added in the post on Sunday (Aug 3). Meanwhile, Perak human resources, health, indian community affairs and national integration committee chairman A. Sivanesan said the competition was organised without referring to local authorities. He said the organiser should have at least consulted the Malaysian Maritime Department to check if there was a threat of jellyfish in the area. "The organiser is a private company from outside Perak. We did not know about the event... even the sports and health executive committees did not know about it. "This is a lesson to outsiders who want to organise any activities… that they must refer to the authorities. Luckily, there were no untoward incidents this time," he said at an event in the Royal Club Ipoh here on Sunday. It was reported that at least 40 participants of the Teluk Senangin Open Water Swim 2025 competition were injured after being stung by jellyfish and needed hospital treatment. Sivanesan said two of the injured participants have been discharged from Manjung Hospital, while those treated as outpatients are in stable condition. – Bernama


The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Sarawak to upgrade traffic parks for better road safety education
SIBU: The Sarawak Ministry of Transport will upgrade traffic parks statewide to strengthen road safety education for students. State Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin announced that six existing parks in Sibu, Kuching, Sri Aman, Sarikei, Bintulu, and Miri will receive special allocations for improvements. The Rejang Park Traffic Garden in Sibu, built over 30 years ago, has been allocated RM350,000 for upgrades. Lee said, 'Upgrading these facilities is important so that students can learn and understand traffic rules through real-life experiences that simulate actual road situations.' He spoke at the opening of the Sarawak Traffic Games (STG) today. Lee also revealed plans to expand the number of traffic parks under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), ensuring every division in Sarawak has at least one fully equipped facility. 'We are committed to expanding access to road safety education for more students and rural communities,' he added. The STG, a revival of the Shell Traffic Games discontinued in 2015, was reintroduced last year in Miri. The next editions will be held in Sri Aman and Bintulu later this year. Today's event in Sibu involved students from nine primary and secondary schools. - Bernama