KUALA LUMPUR: Arif Aiman Hanapi will not be featuring at the 2024 AFC Under-23 (U-23) Asian Cup which will be held from April 15 to May 3 in Doha, Qatar.
This was confirmed by national U-23 head coach Juan Torres Garrido who said that Arif was never considered in his plan, as Arif has already cemented his position in the Harimau Malaya side.
Arif made his senior team debut at the age of 19 in 2021, and has been a regular ever since.
He is currently with the squad in Muscat, where they are preparing for their 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualification match against Oman at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Thursday.
"We never mentioned Arif because he has shown his level. He's above our current level and is part of the senior team's first eleven," said Garrido today.
"These are (some of) the players who could make a difference, but my mind wasn't on calling him up.
"Because at the end of the day, we are planning what's good for the team, and the team never had him in the past."
Garrido said 17 players reported on Sunday for the first day of national camp at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya.
Roughly 10 more will join soon, while four players currently with Harimau Malaya will be available after March 26.
The Spaniard confirmed that European-based player Richard Chin was not called up due to a long-term injury. He has instead brought in Waldhof Mannheim defender Annil Vigneswaran.
"We think it is worth giving him (Annil) a chance because we don't have many centrebacks," said Garrido.
The national U-23 will play India on March 22 and 25 in Kuala Lumpur before departing for Doha on March 31.
They will then play against China and Qatar on April 3 and 7, respectively, before beginning their Asian Cup campaign on April 17.
Malaysia are drawn in Group D with Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Kuwait.