Pertama Ferroalloys U12 badminton attracts nearly 100 shuttlers
Lucas Ho Ming Joon of Miri and Samantha Kong Zi Yann of Sibu were crowned as the boys’ singles and girls’ singles champions respectively at the inaugural Pertama Ferroalloys Inter Sarawak U12 badminton championships at the Sarawak Badminton Association Hall along Jalan Lapangan Terbang on Sunday.
Lucas, seeded second in the keenly contested Boys U12 singles competition, beat joint 5/8th seed Ezra Lau Jih Loch in straight sets of 21-8, 21-12 in the all-Miri final to walk away with RM100 and medal.
Ezra collected RM70 and medal while Brandon Wong of Kuching and Yii Hao Bing of Miri finished joint third to each receive RM50 and medal.
The Girls U12 final saw Samantha upstaging top seed Rosella Tania Rant @ Rantie of Sarikei 22-20, 12-21, 22-20 to receive RM100 and medal. Rosella collected RM80 and a medal.
Lydia Lau Hui Nin of Sibu and Jollene Goh Jiabao from Batu Niah, Miri who finished joint third, each received RM50 and a medal.
The badminton competition, organised by SBA and sponsored by Pertama Ferroalloys Sdn Bhd, attracted 75 boys and 21 girls shuttlers.
Meanwhile, Pertama Ferroalloys corporate social responsibility senior manager Samuel Bernabas, who represented general manager Yuki Nakamura at the closing ceremony, said the latter saw the potential in young Sarawakians and had put this as an emphasis to mould young Sarawak talents.
“His passion in badminton is the reason why Pertama Ferroalloys is excited to contribute to SBA.
“You are Sarawak’s future athletes and we believe that through our support and collaboration, you are able to get the right training and you need to represent Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole and making a name for Sarawak in international championships,” he said.
“I would like to congratulate every player here today for your determination to play your best. Do not lose hope as Nakamura’s philosophy is “Never give up” and you will surely reach your goals,” added Samuel.