KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian blind football squad are determined to redeem themselves following the disappointment of the Kuala Lumpur Asean Para Games (KL2017) by qualifying for next year's IBSF (International Blind Sports Federation) World Cup in Madrid, Spain.
The Malaysian Blind Tigers, led by head coach Sunny Shalesh, hope to realise their dreams by finishing as one of the top four teams at the IBSA Blind Football Asian Championship that gets underway in Tun Razak Hockey Stadium, Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.
In September, the team that won gold at the Singapore Para Asean Games (2015) failed to defend their title when they had to settle for bronze after losing to Laos in the semi-finals.
Disappointed with the result, the team now want to bounce back by becoming the first Malaysian team to qualify for the World Cup.
"This has been our target since 2014, and it is also our third attempt at the Asian Championship since our debut in 2009.
"Playing on home soil definitely added pressure to the players during the Asean Para Games, but that was not the only factor.
"With the help of the NSC (National Sports Council) and NSI (National Sports Institute), we were able to conduct a thorough analysis, and we can say that we failed to defend our gold medal due to technical errors.
"Having said that, we also had injury problems with some of the players then, so it wasn't easy. This time around we have prepared well and we are really hoping to qualify for the semi-finals which would guarantee us a spot in next year's World Cup," said Sunny, who has been with the squad since 2009.
Malaysia, currently ranked No 5 in Asia, will not have it easy, as they are in the same group as top seeds and 2016 Rio Paralympics silver medallists Iran and third seeds South Korea.
Only the top two teams will qualify for the last four stage. Second seeds China, Japan and KL2017 gold medal winners Thailand are in Group A.
"Iran are a very strong team, but we were watching the Koreans train over the last two days and it is not impossible to beat them. We, however, need a very good strategy," added Shalesh.
Malaysia, who finished fifth in the previous edition in Tokyo, Japan, open their campaign against Iran on Wednesday before playing South Korea the next day.