This Persija Wonderkid Was Surprised By Shin Tae-yong's Call To The U-23 National Team: I Was Surprised

Ilham Rio Fahmi (Instagram.com/@persija)

JAKARTA - Persija Jakarta is one of the clubs that contribute the most players to the U-23 national team squad that will compete in the SEA Games Vietnam 2021. In total there are four names including their wonderkid, Ilham Rio Fahmi.

Filling the national team squad is the first time for Rio. The 20-year-old even admitted that he was surprised and did not expect himself to be ogled by the national team coach, Shin Tae-yong.

Regarding his summons to the national team, Rio said he had never set a target there. For the player who was born on October 6, while defending the Kemayoran Tigers, he only tried to look as good as he could in order to make a maximum contribution

"At first I was surprised (to be called up to the national team). In every match I played, I just tried my best, there was no thought of being ogled by the national team or not. What is important for me is that I can contribute optimally to the team," he was quoted as saying on the club's official website.

Although he didn't expect himself to be part of the national team, Rio later admitted that he was grateful and would really fight and take advantage of this opportunity for his future career.

“I am very grateful for this opportunity. I will make this call a valuable experience and I will use it as best as I can for my future career," added Rio.

Even though he is still relatively young, Rio has already got a place at Persija. In fact, the player is recorded to have appeared more time than Marco Motta.

As far as his chances of defending the Kemayoran Tigers are concerned, Rio has been down in 26 matches. It is not surprising that then Shin Tae-yong wanted to test his abilities.

Besides Rio, three other Persija players who were called up to the U-23 national team are Braif Fatari, Syahrian Abimanyu, and Firza Andika.

Different from Rio who acknowledged this summoning as the first. Braif and his two colleagues have defended the national team several times.

Meanwhile, the 2021 SEA Games will take place in Vietnam on May 6–22. In the elite sports competition throughout Southeast Asia, the U-23 Indonesian national team is in Group A with Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar and Timor Leste.

The U-23 national team is scheduled to start TC in Jakarta on April 6-7 2022. After that, the program will continue to Daegu, South Korea, until April 29 before undergoing the inaugural match against the host on May 6.