Time to stop the rot
Men’s volleyball team confident of winning a medal this time
MALAYSIA’S SEA Games record in volleyball is quite appalling.
The men’s team have only won one silver in 40 years – since 1977. And that was 16 years ago – on home soil in KL 2001.
Volleyball has been held in 19 editions of the Games since 1977, with the only exception being in Brunei 1999.
And since then, Indonesia and Thailand have won it the most. Indonesia have won it nine times and Thailand seven times. Myanmar won it three times.
In Singapore two years ago, even Vietnam picked up a silver.
So, why hasn’t the Malaysian men’s volleyball team made any headway?
National captain Sim Jian Qin, 23, blames it on the lack of systematic planning.
Jian Qin, who is studying at the Inti International University & Colleges in Nilai, said the national spikers can give their opponents a run for their money “if we have the right structure and development plans in place”.
“It’s a matter of having the right set-up – training, league and international matches – for the players. Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar all have strong leagues. So, they have a good flow of players coming into the system.
“It is difficult over here because the last time we had a national league was in 2013. Most of our players come from colleges and universities.
“Once they graduate, they stop playing because there are no competitions or follow-up programmes to keep them going.
“These talents are wasted because they are all matured and experienced players,” said Jian Qin.
The Malaysia Volleyball Association (Mava) are aware of their shortcomings and have made some positive changes.
So far, the national spikers have competed in four international tournaments since being assembled in January.
The tournaments are the Datuk Bandar MBSA Cup Volleyball Championships in Shah Alam ( March 9- 12); the IJM Club Championship also in Shah Alam ( April 20- 23); the Asian Junior Championship in Iran (May 1-10); and the Batam International Championship in Indonesia (May 16-21).
They also have a stint coming up in Taiwan before the final test in the pre-SEA Games tournament in Shah Alam from July 19-23.
Jian Qin was pleased with their outing in the Asian Under-23 meet in Iran.
“We qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time because of our good preparation. We have been together since the beginning of the year and we’ve made good progress,” he said.
In Iran, Malaysia upstaged Australia 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-22) before losing by narrow margins to the other three higher-ranked teams – Iran 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-21); China 3-0 (2522, 25-19, 25-19); and Pakistan 3-1 (23-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-21).
Still, Jian Qin believes that the team are on the right track.
“There is a good chance for us to win a medal at the KL Games as all of us are hungry for success. We also have home advantage.
“I expect Thailand and Vietnam to be our main threats, but we will be ready for them,” said Jian Qin.