THERE may be a lot of problems in Malaysian sepak takraw now, but the national players have been told to ignore the distractions and focus on the Hanoi Sea Games on May 12-23.
That is national coach Abdul Talib Ahmad's advice to his young charges.
The sport here has been under a cloud over the past year following the Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia's (STAM) expulsion from the Asian Sepak Takraw Federation (Astaf) and subsequently the International Sepak Takraw Federation (Istaf).
The emergence of a new national body, Malaysia Sepak Takraw Confederation (MSC), who have been accepted by Astaf and Istaf, has further complicated the situation, as there are now two national bodies in the country.
Because of this, the national squad will compete under the Olympic Council of Malaysia banner instead of STAM at the Sea Games.
The administration of the team, however, has not been much affected as the National Sports Council (NSC) played a key role in preparing the squad for multi-sport events such as the Sea Games and Asian Games.
Talib believed that the national players are handling the situation well so far.
"I have always told them that as players, they have to carry out the duties expected of them," he said.
"Performing to the best of their abilities is the responsibility of each player.
"I have advised them to focus on training and so far I feel that they have given excellent commitment and attention to it.
"If they were affected (by the issues faced in the sport) I am sure their training will have suffered but so far everything is going smoothly from a physical and mental aspect."
The men's squad are training in Janda Baik while the women are preparing in Terengganu.
Talib has set a one silver and two bronze target for the men's squad (of 12 players) in Hanoi.
"Since we have two major competitions this year - the Sea Games and Hangzhou Asian Games - we have decided to give the youngsters a chance to gain valuable experience at the Sea Games," said Talib.
"For this Sea Games, 83 per cent of the players in the men's squad are under the age of 25 while seven players are under-21.
"On paper Thailand will be the team to look out for though in the world of sepak takraw today, it is not only them who are strong.
"Hosts Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar can also be considered to be among the stronger teams."
The men's squad comprise Faisal Mohd Fuad, Zarif Merican Ibrahim, Haziq Hairul Nizam, Zuhri Muhammad Zain, Aidil Aiman Azwawi, Norfaizzul Abd Razak, Zulhusni Basri, Asyraaf Abd Hadi, Afifuddin Mohd Razali, Noraizat Mohd Nordin, Eqbal Shamsudin and Redwan Hakim Muhammad.
The women's squad feature Siti Nor Zubaidah Che Ab Wahab, Siti Nor Suhaidah Jafri, Nur Fatihah Azizul, Nur Natasha Amira Fazil, Nor Azira Suhaimi, Razmah Anam, Nadillatul Rosmahani Saidin, Nurul Izzatul Himah Md Zulkifli, Kamisah Khamis, Nur Fateha Rossli, Nur Asmida Rambli and Siti Farisha Ismi Hissan.
Malaysia won two silver and one bronze to place fourth overall in the sport at the 2019 Manila Sea Games.