From the initial list of 24 players, overage players Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak (Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT)) and Shahrul Saad (Perak) were ruled out due to injuries.
Thus, for the overage player slots, Ong could only count on Kedah duo Baddrol Bakhtiar and Rizal Ghazali.
Baddrol was also named captain for the tournament.
Also out injured were Negeri Sembilan's N. Thanabalan and Felda United midfielder Danial Amier Norhisham, while Kuala Lumpur goalkeeper Khatul Anuar Jalil was dropped in favour of JDT II forward Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak, who just underwent a trial in Japan.
The remaining players included JDT's Safawi Rasid and Kedah wonderkid Akhyar Rashid, who both impressed in friendly matches against China U-23 and the United Arab Emirates U-23 earlier this month.
Malaysia will face Kyrgyzstan (August 15), South Korea (August 17) and Bahrain (August 20) in Group E at the Asian Games.
For the record, Malaysia have only reached the knockout stage once in the past four editions, when they lost 3-1 to Iran in the Round of 16 in 2010.
The full Malaysia U-23 squad is as follows:
| # | Name | Age | Team |
| 1 | Haziq Nadzli | 20 | Johor Darul Ta’zim |
| 2 | Dominic Tan | 21 | Johor Darul Ta’zim |
| 3 | Safawi Rasid | 21 | Johor Darul Ta’zim |
| 4 | Adam Nor Azlin | 22 | Johor Darul Ta’zim |
| 5 | Syafiq Ahmad | 23 | Johor Darul Ta’zim |
| 6 | Adib Zainudin | 23 | Johor Darul Ta’zim II |
| 7 | Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak | 18 | Johor Darul Ta’zim II |
| 8 | Baddrol Bakhtiar | 30 | Kedah |
| 9 | Rizal Ghazali | 26 | Kedah |
| 10 | Ifwat Akmal Chek Kassim | 22 | Kedah |
| 11 | Akhyar Rashid | 19 | Kedah |
| 12 | Irfan Zakaria | 23 | Kuala Lumpur |
| 13 | Syazwan Andik Ishak | 22 | Kuala Lumpur |
| 14 | Faisal Abdul Halim | 20 | Pahang |
| 15 | Kogileswaran Raj | 20 | Pahang |
| 16 | Rodney Celvin Akwensivie | 22 | PKNS |
| 17 | Nik Akif Syahiran Nik Mat | 19 | Kelantan |
| 18 | Syazwan Zaipol Bahari | 23 | Perak |
| 19 | Tommy Mawat Bada | 22 | PJ Rangers |
| 20 | Syahmi Safari | 20 | Selangor |
