Trio’s feats should inspire young athletes to excel
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Badminton Association (SBA) president Janih Bangud hoped Demond Anthony Samin’s recent achievement would inspire the State young shuttlers to strive for excellence in the sport.
Demond and Muhammad Arif Shahari Wan Mohd Junaidi won the Boy’s Doubles Under-17 title after beating Chinese Taipei top seed Wei Chun Wei-Wu Guan Xun 21-18, 21-17 in the final of the Badminton Asia Under-17 & Under-15 Junior Championships at Mandalar Thiri Multi-Purpose Stadium in Mandalay, Myanmar.
The victory for Demond saw him become the first state-trained shuttler to win at Asian junior level tournament.
Apart from Demond, the other Sabahans playing in the championship were Goh Shuen Tong and Arena Satu Samin who also impressed in their respective events.
“First of all the association would like to congratulate and we are proud of Demond’s achievement as well as Shuen Tong and Arena who were selected to represent the country in the tourmament.
“Practice makes perfect and for that thank you to the parents, coaches and clubs who have made sacrifices for the shuttlers.
“It is with great hope that the achievement will inspire the young players in Sabah to train extra harder to achieve excellence,” he said here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Janih said Ferdinan Ramno of Keningau was the only state shuttler based at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) in Kuala Lumpur.
“Actually we have five under-12 players being offered by BJSS to study and train there but rejected it.
“May be the parents are not ready to part with their children who are all under the age 12,” he said.
Janih went on to say that Arena, 15, also received a similar offer but the highly talented shuttler has yet to confirm whether to accept or otherwise.