Christian’s ambition may be iced by lack of funds
CHRISTIAN Didier Chin wants to put Malaysia on the tennis map but his ambition to be a top player could be halted due to lack of funds.
The 17-year-old will become the first Malaysian to break into the top 200 on the latest ITF boys’ singles ranking list in recent times following his win in the Kuala Lumpur Junior International Championship (Grade Five) yesterday.
Top seed Christian, who is of Malaysian-Taiwanese parentage, defeated sixth seed Dev Javia 6-1, 6-4 in the final at DBKL Centre in Titiwangsa.
On Friday, Christian and partner Takeshi Koey were edged by Ali Mooraj of Pakistan and Karan Srivastava of India 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 in the doubles final.
A product of the National Tennis Academy in Kuala Lumpur, Christian, who is of Taiwanese-Malaysian parentage, is one of the rising stars in the local fraternity and he is expected to make his Sea Games debut in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 19-31.
The Sabah-born Christian, who lost in the first round of qualifiers in the Australian Juniors in January, is currently funded by his father for tournaments.
“My dad funds me but I am currently looking for sponsorship as my association (Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia) does not have enough money. It is pretty tough for me,” said Christian yesterday.
“I will break into the top 200 for the first time in the next ranking list and I hope people will start taking notice of my abilities.
Tennis is tough and I need funds to proceed to the next level.”
The win yesterday was his first career success in singles on the ITF Junior Circuit.
“I came into the tournament very determined following the heart breaking defeat in the Chief Minister’s Cup in Kuching earlier this month, where I held five match points and still lost my second round match to 77thranked Yin Bang Shuo.
“I was nervous in this event but I grew in confidence after each match. Although, it is only a Grade Five event, I am so happy to win after several previous failed attempts in the circuit,” he said.
Christian will play in Taiwan next, followed by Italy and he hopes to make the qualifying round of the French Juniors in May. He is also planning to play in the ITF Men’s Futures later this year.
“My target is to break into the top 100 by the end of the season. It is important as I will get direct entry into the tournament proper of Junior Grand Slams,” Christian added.
In the girls’ singles, Sara Nayar was Malaysia’s best performer in the tournament yesterday. The second seed exited in the semifinals. Ajitpal Singh