Sepak takraw boys' morale hit as critically injured teammate fights for his life
It was clear that the national team's morale took a hit as sepak takraw national player Muhammad Azreen remains critically injured in hospital.
The team lost both their matches against Indonesia and Thailand yesterday.
Singapore lost 3-0 to Indonesia in the morning, then by the same scoreline to Thailand in the evening.
Azreen's teammate Maghrib Ibrahim, 26, said: "It really affected us today, and you could see that with our performance against Indonesia. It was a very bad performance.
"We were too emotional and we couldn't focus at all."
Team's captain Farhan Amran said: "I told the team the day before that we needed to put our emotions aside and just carry on. After all, we have a national duty to carry out."
According to the latest statement by chefs de mission Dr Tan Eng Liang and Nicholas Fang, Azreen is still recovering in the intensive care unit at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
He had his second surgery yesterday and is monitored closely by his specialists for his progress and recovery.
The Singapore Sepak Takraw Foundation's secretary general Abdul Halim Kader said: "The players were certainly affected. Azreen was a key player in the team.
"Nevertheless, despite their loss, the team played well in both games."
Coach Padzli Othman, 49, said: "The players were down... And they were really giving of their best. But that is all they have left in the tank."
Azreen was involved in a traffic accident in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The 25-year-old was travelling on the Seletar Expressway in the direction of the Central Expressway in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The accident left his 21-year-old brother dead. Unfortunately, team members were unable to attend the burial - and this further affected the morale of the team.
Padzli said: "It was hard enough to not even be able to attend it because of competition duties.
"But, as a coach, I had to push them further and gave them a morale-booster. But, honestly, they were struggling to adapt."
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