APG 2025: National Men's Cerebral Palsy Football Team Go Down To Indonesia In Opening Match

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian men's cerebral palsy (CP) football team, the defending champions, paid the price for adopting a defensive approach as they began their ASEAN Para Games (APG) 2025 campaign with a 3-0 loss to Indonesia at the Rajabhat University Nakhon Ratchasima Stadium here today.

National coach Asnan Md Zuki said they had no choice but to play defensively against a very strong opposition.

"We knew it would be tough against Indonesia. Based on our previous experience, including during the World Cup Qualifiers, we knew they had the advantage in terms of player quality and exposure.

"Our defensive approach actually worked, as we were only down 1-0 at halftime. In the second half, we were let down by our inability to go on the offensive,” he told Bernama. 

Yahya Hernanda scored a brace in the fourth and 53rd minutes to inspire Indonesia to victory, with Rizki Milyana adding the third in the 62nd minute.

Asnan, however, stressed that they will make tactical tweaks in the coming matches, as they are targeting a top-two finish to reach the final.

Malaysia are scheduled to play Myanmar on Thursday (Jan 22), followed by Thailand on Friday (Jan 23) and the Philippines on Saturday (Jan 24).

-- BERNAMA