Slim chance for Christian to play in SEA Games
PETALING JAYA: It looks like young tennis player Christian Didier Chin may not get his wish to play in the KL SEA Games, after all.
Christian, who is the highest-placed Malaysian at 121st in the ITF junior ranking, was expected to take up the fifth spot in the men’s team.
But he has now been relegated to the reserve list because the injured Syed Agil Syed Naguib is expected to be fit for the KL Games.
Syed Agil has been absent from competitive tennis following a wrist injury but his doctor has cleared him to play in the National Circuit’s Kuala Lumpur Open on July 26-30.
Others in the KL Games men’s team are Assri Merzuki, Ahmed Deedat Razak, Christian Lee and Koay Hao Sheng.
The 16-year-old Christian, who is of Taiwanese-Malaysian parentage, first gained prominence after winning both the singles and doubles titles at the ITF Terengganu International Junior Championships (Grade 4) in May.
He then achieved a momentous feat by reaching the final of the Asian Junior Tennis Championships (Grade B1) in New Delhi last month.
The Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM) prefer to keep Christian on the sidelines for the SEA Games as they feel that the team are unlikely to finish on the podium in men’s singles and doubles.
“Christian’s participation in the SEA Games will depend on Syed Agil’s condition. We will see how Syed Agil performs in the KL Open and assess his condition,” said LTAM secretary Rahizam Rahim.
“Christian will get in if Syed Agil is still troubled by the injury.
“Many feel that Christian should be given an automatic slot in the men’s team, but there is a difference in the standard of the game at the junior and senior levels.”
Tennis offers five gold medals at the SEA Games – men and women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles.