KTRS move onto 2017 with great confidence
SANDAKAN: With the year 2016 ending on a successful note, Kelab Tenis Remaja Sandakan (KTRS) will be stepping into 2017 with great confidence in consolidating their gains and charting further progress.
“2016 has been an activity-laden year for our club. We took some decisive steps to fortify our junior development programmes not the least of which was sending our juniors for their first overseas tennis tournament,” said KTRS president Taren Sunil Manoharan in a press release yesterday.
KTRS junior Harish John Sunil Manoharan joined his Kelantan counterparts on a tennis tour to Sri Lanka, where they took part in two Asian Tennis Federation-sanctioned junior tournaments.
“KTRS and the Kelantan Tennis Association have very good ties in jointly promoting and developing junior tennis,” Taren Sunil pointed out, adding that ties with other state tennis associations and clubs are also being developed - all for the good of the game.
Meanwhile, back in Malaysia, KTRS juniors took part in a record number of national level tournaments held across several states in the country.
In spite of the high cost of sending their boys to Peninsular Malaysia, they managed to participate in many of the tournaments held there. These included several legs of the Lawn Tennis Association Malaysia Junior Tour 2016 plus other major International Open Junior Tennis Championships held in the country such as the Port Dickson Open and Genting-Selangor International Open tournaments.
KTRS player Harish John won his first international 14-Under doubles title at the Port Dickson event partnering his Kelantan counterpart Wan Muhammad Izzat Afiq Bin Nasir.
“We are very pleased that our juniors have done consistently well at these tournaments, winning some and reaching the finals, semifinals or quarterfinals in others,” he noted.
KTRS players also took part in the Sabah Junior Tour 2016 with very promising results.
Mark Rueben Pang won the 14Under singles title at the opening leg in Sandakan. At the KK Leg, fellow KTRS player Harish John Sunil Manoharan won the 14-Under boys doubles title partnering Kevalraj Singh Kreer.
Then, competing in an older agegroup, he partnered Luke Guansing to add yet another gold medal to his collection by winning the 16-Under boys doubles final. He was also the 14-Under singles runner-up.
Other KTRS players who chalked up good results at tournaments during the year were Jaznavissri A/P Uigneswaran, Rishigeswaran A/ Uigneswaran, Jonathan Joshua Sunil Manoharan, Larm Ngui and Johnaton Chan who won the boys 14-Under singles (2nd tier) title at the Sabah Junior Masters organised by Sabah Tennis Association.
“The fact that eight of our KTRS players eventually qualified for the year-ending STA Sabah Junior Masters Championships is a significant indication of their steady progress. That has boosted the morale our youngsters. Unfortunately, some of them were not able to participate in the Masters due to unavoidable circumstances,” Taren Sunil said.
KTRS girls and boys also formed the bulk of the players that represented Sandakan Division at the MSSS school tennis tournament held in Tawau this year.
Those selected were Jaznavissri A/P Uigneswaran, Mark Reuben Pang, Larm Ngui, Rishigeswaran A/L Uigneswaran, Jonathan Joshua Sunil Manoharan, Harish John Sunil Manoharan and Sharvin A/L Uigneswaran although the latter two were unable to join the team.
Meanwhile, there was no let up by KTRS in other areas of promoting junior tennis. Most notable is the sustained effort to introduce the game to kindergarten kids.
These weekly free tennis clinics for six-year-old kids held at Syn Hua and Pui Gin Kindergartens have been ongoing for four years. These are conducted by the coaching unit of KTRS which is the Manoharan Junior Tennis Academy.
Around 200 kids were introduced to the game in 2016.
“It is our aim to help kids learn more about tennis through these very basic lessons which we organise at their respective kindergartens. We have to thank the headmistresses of Syn Hua & Pui Gin Kindergartens, Sim Yit Choo and Ngai Sui San respectively for their full cooperation and assistance in making the programme a success,” added the KTRS President.
For these kindergarten kids, the highlight of the year was the Manoharan Junior Tennis Carnival held at the Sandakan Sports Complex which was graced by the presence of YB Datuk Charles Pang the Assemblyman for Karamunting as well as Penyuki Matta, the general manager of the Sabah Sports Board.
In line with the club’s aim of making tennis fun, KTRS created a carnival atmosphere for them to have a great time of fun and competition where they were also able to pit their skills against each other. The Carnival attracted the support of DLP Sporting Goods Sdn Bhd (from KL) and K2@Lifewater Sdn Bhd from Sandakan.
The year 2016 also saw the successful introduction of free tennis clinics to around 40 teenagers from the St. Mary’s Hostel in Sandakan. With St. Mary’s hostel manager Vincent Wong, their staff as well as all the boys being very receptive to the programme, the weekly clinics proved to be very successful.
In keeping with its overall aims, KTRS also took their tennis kids to outings in support of the environment.
There were tree-planting projects to “green up” the environment and outdoor trips to savour and appreciate the beauty of nature. They also took part in conservation activities such as those in support of protecting wildlife like turtles and sun bears.
“As a tennis club, we certainly want our tennis kids to be able to play the game well. However, we also want them to learn and absorb other important traits that will help them develop into useful citizens,” said Taren Sunil in summing up the aims of KTRS.
The KTRS president also expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Sabah Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports YB Datuk Masiung Banah for giving him invaluable advice during a courtesy call on the Assistant Minister earlier this year.
“We also thank the Sabah Sports Board under its general manager Penyuki Matta for all the cooperation and assistance rendered to KTRS in our effort to promote junior tennis,” he added.