PETALING JAYA: National Under-23 coach Ong Kim Swee believes he has selected a competitive 20-member squad for the Indonesia Asian Games which starts on Wednesday.
Goalkeeper Khatul Anuar Md Jalil and midfielder Rodney Celvin Akwensivie were dropped from the team on Sunday.
However, striker Hadi Fayyadh Abd Razak, who has just returned from a trial with Japan’s J2 side Roasso Kumamoto, was included.
Kim Swee said he is satisfied with the players he has chosen despite issues with injury and the reluctance of some clubs to release their players.
"This is our best squad. I believe all the players listed will do a good job regardless of which position they are played in. Hadi's inclusion has given us some options in attack," said Kim Swee at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya on Sunday.
Kim Swee stressed that the brawl with the United Arab Emirates among players and officials in Friday’s friendly at Shah Alam Stadium has not affected their focus.
He added that he will leave it to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to take action.
"What is important is that they are focused on training and their main task after this. We do not have to dwell on the past.
"We have to get ready for our first Group E match on Wednesday (against Kyrgyzstan) . I will leave it to AFC to handle this case."
Meanwhile, FA of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Amin hopes AFC will rule in their favour over the incident against UAE.
"It was unavoidable. I was at the stadium when it happened and saw that our players had to act in self defence," said Hamidin.
"Some have said that they (UAE) were under pressure due to their loss but they should not have attacked our players.”
Malaysia’s other Group E matches at the Asian Games are against defending champions South Korea (on Friday) and Bahrain (Aug 20).
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Haziq Nadzli, Ifwat Akmal Chek Kassim;
Defenders: Dominic Tan, Adam Nor Azlin, Adib Zainudin, Rizal Ghazali, Irfan Zakaria, Syazwan Andik Ishak, Syazwan Zaipol Bahari, Tommy Mawat Bada;
Midfielders: Baddrol Bakhtiar, Faisal Abdul Halim, Danial Amier Norhisham, Nik Akif Syahiran Nik Mat, Syahmi Safari;
Forwards: Akhyar Rashid, Safawi Rasdi, Syafiq Ahmad, Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak, R Kogileswaran.