Formbook gets ‘squashed’

ball is round, the game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory,” once said the famous German football manager Josef Herberger.

Yes, in theory, the Malaysian women’s squash team should have done better but not the men’s.

But yet the opposite happened at the Indonesia Asian Games.

Going into the tournament, the national men's squad were not considered serious contenders for gold in the team event. Judging from their results in the singles event, not many fans expected the Malaysian men to do well in the team event.

The skepticism came about after Nafiizwan Adnan managed a bronze in the individual event earlier while Ivan Yuen's campaign came to an end in the quarterfinals.

Their performances paled in comparison to the women’s singles event where Nicol David and compatriot S. Sivasangari powered their way to an allMalaysian final where Nicol was pushed to five sets before clinching a fifth Asiad singles gold.

But the men’s squad, comprising Nafiizwan, Ivan, Ng Eain Yow and Syafiq Kamal, served a big surprise in the team event by grabbing the gold.

They romped through the group stage, winning all their ties against India, Singapore, Qatar, Indonesia and Thailand.

In the semi-final, the Malaysian men downed Pakistan 2-0, before edging title favourites Hong Kong 2-1 in the final.

Playing without the pressure of expectations had likely helped their cause. Hopefully, their Asiad triumph will give the Malaysian men the added confidence they need to move a step up at world level.

But, unlike the men, the Malaysian women flopped in the team event after their brilliant show in the singles.

The team of Nicol, Sivasangari, Low Wee Wern and Aifa Azman failed to defend their gold medal.

Despite easing through the group stage with a 100 per cent record, they lost 2-0 to India in the semi-finals, and were forced to settle for the bronze.

For the first time, Malaysia failed to win the gold in the women’s team event since it was introduced in 2010. It is a worrying sign that their Asian rivals are poised to overtake them.