Published on: Thursday, November 19, 2009 |
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah will be aiming for honours at the National Hopes Under-12 and Under-13 Table Tennis Championships that would be held at the Maksak Hall in Likas here from November 22-25, this year.
President of the organisers of this tournament, Sabah Table Tennis Association (STTA), Edward Chua Soon An said that he expects the team to do well with hopes of winning medals in various categories.
"We have some good players in our squad and I think there are some medal prospects from some of them.
"Our notable players to look out for in this tournament are in the U-10 events for Boys and Girls.
"Apart from that we also have good players in other events, especially Joanne Chin who will be playing in the Girls U-13 category," he said.
Chua told reporters this when met at STTA's training venue at Likas Sports Complex here, Wednesday.
A total of 56 players are lined up to play for the State team, of which 13 are STTA players.
They are Aaron Tai Jian Bin, David Ho Cen Sen and Beh Jing Xiang in the Boys U-10 events and Connie Leong P S, Soon Shu Wen, Wong Shu Yi, Aidah Wong Y C and Debbie Fung for the Girls U-10 category.
In the Boys U-13 events will be Calvin Tai, Tham Chi Yang and Daryl Fung L X, while in the U-13 Girls category will be Joanne Chin and Kong Chieng Sing.
The tournament, which starts on Sunday morning, will see some 400 participants comprising players, coaches, manager, officials and umpires taking part in a total of 14 events.
They are the Boys U-13 Singles, Doubles and Team events, The Girls U-13 Singles, Doubles and Team events, the Boys U-10 Singles and Team events and Girls U-10 Singles and Team events and Singles and Team events for the Boys and Girls U-13 Perpaduan Category. Chua said that the team is also banking on their Perpaduan players (although none are from STTA) to win medals.
"They are actually our biggest hope for medals in this championship and we will be expecting them to do well," he said. There will be a total of 13 teams competing from all the states, with the exception of Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu.
The Team events would be played first beginning on the opening day where the final will be held on the following day, while the Singles events will start on the 24th, before the final the following day.
Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Peter Pang En Yin is expected to officiate at the opening, while Assistant youth and Sports Minister Datuk Jahid Jahim is scheduled to close the championship on Wednesday afternoon (Nov 25th).
For the record, Selangor was the overall champion in 2008, where they dominated the Boys and Girls U-13 and Boys U-10 events. This year's champion's trophy, which is sponsored by STTA, will go to the overall winner by calculation of points.
