We see through our hearts, says blind football 5-a-side player

"Even though we cannot see, we have ears to hear, hands to feel and hearts to understand," says Ahmad Fikri Omar, the national 5-a-side blind football player, who helped Malaysia win the bronze medal at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur ASEAN Para Games.

Malaysia beat Vietnam 1-0 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil here today.

In the bronze medal match, Ahmad Fikri emerged as a hero after showing a tremendous composure during a penalty shoot-out at the end of the game to confirm the squad's victory.

The 22-year-old player said he did not hesitate to take the kick, even though he had to face a goalkeeper who could see (normal athlete).

"I'm happy with this win, luckily we were given a penalty kick at the end of the match after failing to score, but we played well and created numerous goal-scoring opportunities," he told reporters after the match.

Meanwhile, national coach M. Shalesh said today's match was tougher than the group-stage match against Vietnam which ended 3-0 in favour of Malaysia.

He said hot weather and opponent's defensive tactic were among the factors that made the players failed to repeat the same performances they had at the group stage.

Thailand win gold for the event after defeating Laos 3-0.

-- BERNAMA