NATIONAL rugby sevens coach Saizul Hafifi Md Noor will keep a close tab on Malaysia's main rivals ahead of the Philippines Sea Games this year.
Hafifi listed traditional rivals Thailand, Singapore and host Philippines as the national squad's main concern in the competition this year.
Malaysia won the rugby sevens gold for a first time in the history of the competition at the Kuala Lumpur games two years ago after losing to Philippines in the 2015 final in Singapore.
"Our preparations, which began at the start of the year, have gone smoothly so far and the new players we have introduced into the squad have settled in very well," said Hafifi.
"Of course our target will be to defend the gold this year but it will not be easy so we have to be well prepared.
"Thailand and Singapore have improved a lot while Philippines will definitely want to win it on home soil. I am sure they (Philippines) will call up all of their naturalised players to compete in the tournament.
"Philippines have a much different squad than they had in 2017 and we will continue to monitor them when they compete in the Asian Sevens Series this season."
Hafifi added that the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament, which will be held in Incheon, South Korea on Nov 23-24, will provide a good chance to gauge their form ahead of the Sea Games.
"We do not have any lofty targets in the Olympic qualifying tournament but it will be a good chance to see where our level is just before the Sea Games and make any adjustments if necessary," said Hafifi.
"Singapore and Philippines will also be competing at the qualifiers so we will also have a chance to see where they are at in terms of form."
The national squad, who were relegated from the Asia Sevens Series last year, won the second-tier Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy in Jakarta last month to earn promotion back to the top-tier Sevens Series next year.
They had also won the Chang International Sevens in Bangkok earlier this month.