SANDAKAN: The Sabah women’s rugby squad are aiming for a podium finish despite fielding many 16-year-old students in the 21st Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak this month.
“At the moment, we are doing basic training and our team have two or three seniors and five or six players who are still in Form Four,” said assistant coach Josephine Augustine Joseph.
The coaches hoped that the young and inexperienced squad had been strengthened through training, he said.
Josephine Augustine said the team faced certain constraints in their preparations, including injuries to players.
“We started serious preparations only early this year and even then several players had other commitments like studies and examinations. It was difficult to gather them for centralised training.
“We hope to achieve our target and bring back something meaningful for Sabah. We want a podium finish,” he added.
He picked Sarawak, Terengganu and Selangor as the biggest threats to Sabah’s medal ambition.
The rugby competition will be held at Miri Stadium from Aug 19 to 22.
Sabah emerged as champions when women’s rugby was first contested at 2018 Sukma in Perak.
The Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of Sukma 2020 and at Sukma 2022, the Sabah women’s rugby squad won the bronze medal.
