THE fear of playing Thailand is the main reason stopping Malaysia from becoming World No 1 in sepak takraw.
Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia (STAM) president Datuk Seri Ahmad Ismail said the national players need to overcome their fear, as in terms of skill they are not far behind the Thais.
The national squad achieved their “pessimistic two-silver target” at the Philippines Sea Games last month by finishing runners-up to Thailand in the men’s inter-regu and team event.
Malaysia had also won one bronze in the women’s inter-regu event.
“The problem is nerves. They lack the mental strength and the self-belief that they can match the Thais,” said Ahmad after the Sea Games post-mortem meeting in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
“Our players in the inter-regu (final) in the Sea Games for example, only started to believe in themselves in the second set and were able to push Thailand hard, but unfortunately, it was too late.
“The speed of their shots also tends to decrease when they play Thailand (due to nerves) during matches.
“This is one area which we need to improve on. Maybe we need to work with a psychologist to help our players. We need to find a formula to overcome this.”
Malaysia won gold at the 2015 Singapore and 2017 Kuala Lumpur editions when Thailand did not compete in the category.