Malaysia’s sepak takraw team is on high alert for a resurgent Thailand at the upcoming 2026 World Cup on home soil, despite being tournament favourites
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is not taking lightly the challenge of its main rival, Thailand, which is expected to show a comeback at the 2026 Sepak Takraw World Cup at Titiwangsa Stadium, here, from May 16 to 23.
National head coach Ahmad Jais Baharun said based on the initial squad list for the World Cup, Thailand appears to have retained almost 70 per cent of its old players with the remaining list expected to be finalised by the end of this month.
He said the White Elephant squad was also expected to seek a comeback to restore its tarnished reputation after its failure at the SEA Games on home soil last year.
“I believe the Thai team will definitely want to create a surprise in Kuala Lumpur after losing in the last SEA Games.
“We are always focusing on this tournament so that we can continue the momentum of success (in the SEA Games) to the World Cup this time,” he said when met at the 2026 Sepak Takraw World Cup Tournament Draw at the Malaysia Sepak Takraw Academy Complex here.
At the draw yesterday, Malaysia and Thailand were not drawn in the same group for the Premier Division regu, team regu and quadrant events, thus there is a possibility of meeting in the final stage if each wins the group competition.
Malaysia is currently seen as the favourite team in this World Cup, especially after winning the gold medal in the team regu by defeating Thailand and the regu event by defeating Vietnam at the last SEA Games.
Meanwhile, commenting on the preparations, Ahmad Jais said the national squad is now focusing on analyzing the opponent’s performance to assess their strengths and weaknesses before determining the best player combination.
He is also confident that the advantage of playing at home and the support of local fans can help the national team maintain momentum and achieve success.
“I believe that the support from all sepak takraw fans in the country in particular, will give the national team a little advantage in improving their performance and also achieving success,” he said.
At the 2024 World Cup which is also held here, Malaysia emerged as Premier Division double and regu event champions while Thailand won the Premier Division team regu championship.
