KTRS strengthens focus on junior tennis development
SANDAKAN: After the outstanding results delivered by their junior players in 2017, Kelab Tenis Remaja Sandakan (KTRS) has strengthened its focus on junior players development without letting up on promoting the game at the kindergarten and school level.
“Our players played consistently well during the entire 2017 season by stamping their mark at all age-group tournaments held throughout the state, including the national level LTAM Junior Tour, Leg 7,” said an elated Taren Sunil Manoharan, the president of KTRS.
For 2018 we aim to consolidate our junior tennis promotion programmes targeting youngsters, including kindergarten kids. This year will be the sixth year of our cooperation with Syn Hua and Pui Gin Kindergartens and we have definitely made tennis very familiar to the kids there,” said Taren.
KTRS, through its coaching unit, the Manoharan Junior Academy, has already lined up a host of activities for this year. These will include tennis carnivals and workshops for kids where experienced career counsellors, motivational speakers and sports personalities would be invited to speak to the youngsters. The regular tournaments will all be organised just as in previous years.
Recapping the results for 2017, Taren said that their top KTRS player, Harish John Shailendra Sunil Manoharan, made a giant stride forward when he won the Gold medal in the men’s singles tennis event at SAGA VIII held in Sandakan towards the end of 2017. Then, with his team-mates, he won another Gold medal for Sandakan Division in the men’s team event. And Harish was then just 15 years old. He had also earlier won the Sandakan Leg of the Sabah Junior Tour and the Under-15 MSSS boys’ title. He was also the boys’ 16-Under doubles bronze medallist (with Luke Alfred) at the LTAM Junior Tour Leg 7 in KK.
Meanwhile top KTRS female player Jashnavissri A/P Uigneswaran went into top gear at the season-ending Sabah Junior Masters organised by Sabah Tennis Association in Kota Kinabalu. Jashnavissri won the Girls’ 14-Under singles event to add to her gold medal at Leg 2 of the 2017 Sabah Junior Tour also held in Kota Kinabalu. She was also the champion at Leg 1 (Sandakan) of the Sabah Junior Tour, giving her a clean sweep of all the Sabah Junior Tour titles in her category.
At the LTAM Junior Tour Leg 7, she won a silver in the doubles with her partner Lai Xin Ru and a bronze in the Girls’ 14-Under singles.
Up and coming player Jonathan Joshua Sunil Manoharan also achieved back to back haul of gold medals in singles at the Sabah Junior Tour. He captured the 10-Under title at the KK leg and capped the year by winning the gold medal at the Sabah Junior Masters where only the best state junior qualified to participate.
Taren expressed his confidence that other KTRS players will soon have their fair share of gold medals in due course. He pointed out that upcoming KTRS players like Maegan Allison Tan, Rishigeswaran A/L Uigneswaran, Johnaton Chan, Grace Chan and Sharvineswaran A/L Uigneswaran have already won silver and bronze medals at several major junior tournaments in Sabah.
In fact, Sharvineswaran won a gold medal at the Sandakan leg of the Sabah Junior Tour in the boys’ 10-Under category. Grace Chan did very well in the Girls’ 10-Under age group of the LTAM Junior Tour by capturing a silver medal in the doubles with partner Miza from Keningau and a bronze in the singles. Also at the LTAM Junior Tour, Harith Jay Sunil Manoharan won a silver in the Mini Tennis for 10-Under competitors against his peers from other states.
Taren also recalled the activities of KTRS in 2017 the highlight of which was the annual inter-kindergarten team competition/carnival between Syn Hua and Pui Gin. The two kindergartens shared the glory last year with Syn Hua winning the girls’ team title while Pui Gin took home the boys’ crown.
“Early in March 2017, KTRS organised a tennis camp/ workshop where 34 students participated. Separately, we also had the opportunity to invite a former Scottish national 400 metres hurdler, John Docherty, to give a talk to our junior players during one of their regular training sessions. John represented Scotland in the 400 metres hurdles in the 1980s,” said Taren.
There was an Open AgeGroup Junior Championships in May and another Tennis Carnival was held in September where not only junior age-group events were held but, to be more inclusive, KTRS added a men’s veterans doubles event which was well received.
“For 2018 we will definitely be organising all these events and maybe even add a few more,” summed up Taren Sunil.