ASIAD SACRIFICE?

Kim Swee’s priority is 2020 Olympics

TO have a better chance of qualifying for the 2020 Olympics, Malaysia may have to make sacrifices and not send their “best team” to the Asian Games in August.

For a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics, the national Under-23 squad will need to be among the four best teams in the AFC Under-23 Championship in two years time.

Coach Ong Kim Swee needs to get a good head start in preparing the Malaysian team for the qualifiers next year.

With the 2020 Olympics in mind, he is considering giving the national Under-21 players valuable exposure at the Asian Games this year.

“We have a few ideas like taking players aged 21 years and below to the Asian Games.

“But it must be known that we cannot set any targets. Because if we do, then we will need to send the best squad of players that we have.

“If there are no targets, I’d rather take players below the age of 21, though all the clubs involved must release the selected players. We will not request for players aged 23 and older, but for those aged 21 and below as preparations for the Under-23 Championship next year,” he said yesterday.

The national squad created history by being the first Malaysian side to advance to the AFC Under 23 quarter-finals before losing narrowly, 2-1 to Asian giants South Korea on Saturday at the Kunshan Stadium.

Following such an achievement, Kim Swee believes that Malaysia have a realistic chance of qualifying for the 2020 Olympics, a feat the country last achieved 38 years ago.

“Even though we played well yesterday against South Korea, I am not at all satisfied as we did not make it to the semi-finals.

“We can’t just stop here, personally my target is qualification for the Olympic Games but with the condition that we get an early head start to prepare, and what we will have to do is become one of the top four teams at the 2020 AFC Under-23 Championship,” said Kim Swee.

Japan, hosts of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, already have a head start by opting to send their Under-20 players to the 2018 AFC Under-23 Championship in China.

Japan were willing to sacrifice the strength of their team by fielding Under-20 players instead of Under-23. They lost 4-0 to Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals.

We can’t just stop here, personally my target is qualification for the Olympic Games but with the condition that we get an early head start to prepare, and what we will have to do is become one of the top four teams at the 2020 AFC Under-23 Championship,”

ONG KIM SWEE

National Under-23 coach