{
  "id": 9091443,
  "title": "Ahmad Jais warns takraw squad against complacency ahead of semi-finals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/ahmad-jais-warns-takraw-squad-against-complacency-ahead-of-semi-finals",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-22T05:29:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2026/09/1538311/ahmad-jais-warns-takraw-squad-against-complacency-ahead-semi-finals"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "National sepak takraw head coach Ahmad Jais has cautioned his team to avoid complacency ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games semi-finals. Malaysia, as Group B winners, secured a 3-0 victory over India to advance to the semi-finals, completing a perfect group stage record after also defeating hosts Japan and the Philippines 3-0.\n\nMalaysia is seeking to end a 36-year gold medal drought in the team regu event. However, Jais stressed the importance of maintaining focus, as the semi-final would determine whether Malaysia could continue their pursuit of gold. He emphasized that failing the semi-final would prevent the team from reaching the final and ending the drought dating back to 1990.\n\nThe coach expressed satisfaction with the players' performance, noting that some aspects still needed improvement before facing a tougher challenge. Among the areas requiring enhancement were players' focus, shot variation, and first-ball control, which were somewhat lacking in the second set of the first regu. Jais added that his team would conduct a post-mortem and analyze video footage to identify strengths and weaknesses of potential opponents in the semi-final, which could include Group A runners-up Indonesia or South Korea.",
  "summary": "NAGOYA: National sepak takraw head coach Ahmad Jais Baharun has reminded his charges not to become complacent at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}