KUALA LUMPUR: Head coach Takayoshi Ishihara insists Malaysia's Under-17 women's squad have proved that qualifying for the Asian Cup finals is well within their reach in the near future.
The Young Tigresses fell at the final hurdle on Sunday, suffering a 4-0 defeat to a clinical Indian side in their Group E decider at the Selayang Stadium to miss out on the solitary qualification ticket.
Despite the painful outcome in front of a near-full stadium, Ishihara refused to let the defeat dampen the progress made by his charges, who finished second in the group with six points following convincing wins over Syria (1-0) and Iraq (4-0).
"Honestly, we really wanted to qualify this time, and the players believed that we could do it," said the Japanese coach.
"It is heartbreaking, but I don't think we can't qualify for the next stage. I truly believe we can do it next time."
Ishihara admitted the gulf between Malaysia and regional heavyweights like India boils down to high-level match exposure rather than an absence of ability.
"I understand India are the better team. But rather than just defend in front of our goal, we needed to challenge them. Our girls have talent, speed, and skills, but they lack the experience of playing against top teams," he said.
"Tonight, India showed us what it takes. We learned a lot, and this kind of harsh experience is exactly what will push this team to improve."
Encouragingly for the national setup, several core figures from the current campaign, including forwards Lim You, Keisha Adeliena, and Qaseh Riana Dafira, remain young enough to spearhead the next under-17 qualification cycle.
"They are still very young. If we continue to give them opportunities and exposure against quality sides, this group has the potential to become the foundation of Malaysian women's football," he said.
In contrast, India head coach Joakim Alexandersson set his sights far beyond 2027 China after steering his side to the top of Group E with a perfect three wins and 20 goals scored.
"That was the reason we came here. We had a mindset to qualify," said the Swedish coach.
"Now we look forward to China. We will face the best teams in Asia, but our main target is very simple: to qualify for the (Under-17) World Cup."
India will join hosts China, North Korea, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines in the final competition scheduled for Mar 31-Apr 17, 2927.
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