PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Under-23 team centreback Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar savoured the sweetest surprise right before boarding the flight to Bangkok to join Selangor’s pre-season training camp in Thailand on Thursday.
The 21-year-old was one of the 33 players picked by coach Kim Pan-gon for the Harimau Malaya centralised training camp starting on March 8 to prepare for their third and fourth Group D matches of the World Cup 2026-Asian Cup 2027 round two qualifiers.
They will play against Oman in Muscat on March 21 and in Bukit Jalil on March 26.
“It was the sweetest surprise,” said an elated Harith, who graduated from Akademi Mokhtar Dahari (AMD) in 2019 and joined Selangor in 2020.
“All this while, I thought my international assignments this year are just going to be with the Under-23 team, as we’re preparing for the Asian Cup.
“I’ll treasure this huge opportunity to train with the national senior team after being called up for the first time.’’
Harith impressed for Selangor last season even though he was used more on a rotational basis by Tan Cheng Hoe, who recently left the Red Giants as coach.
A calm presence at the back, Harith’s well-timed tackles and interceptions have saved the team from conceding goals on quite a number of occasions.
He said he looked forward to learning from the top defenders in the national team like Shahrul Saad, Junior Eldstal, Sharul Nazeem Zulpakar, Dominic Tan and Dion Cools.
“They have a wealth of experience to share with the young players and I’m eager to train with them. Getting to train under coach Kim is another huge motivation for me,’’ added Harith.
As for the coming season with Selangor, Harith said he was disappointed that Cheng Hoe has left the team but is prepared to adapt to the changes that follow.
Cheng Hoe has joined Thai league outfit Police Tero.
“Because of him, I got to play and showcase my abilities with Selangor. We also qualified for the AFC Champions League Two thanks to his guidance.
‘’Now we are in Bangkok, going through our paces under interim coach Nidzam (Jamil). The team are in good spirits and we believe we can have another good season.’’
