Best chance for young Sabah paddlers to win medals
KOTA KINABALU: State paddlers will try to capitalise on home ground advantage when they vie for honours at the Milo Malaysia Hopes Table Tennis Championships which kicks off at Dewan Maksak in Likas here, today.
The 31st edition of the prestigious annual championship is being hosted by Sabah Table Tennis Association and its president Edward Chua Soon Ann said this was the best chance for Sabah’s young athletes to win medals.
“We are fielding a strong team in this championship for Under-13 and Under-10 players and we hope our boys and girls will be able to shine with the home advantage.
“We know it will not be easy going up against the country’s top players but we have prepared our athletes well and we will do our best to try bring strong challenges to the championship,” said Chua who is also the tournament’s organising chairman.
Teams like Kuala Lumpur and Selangor who were champions in the Boy’s Under-13 and Girl’s Under-13 categories last year, will be the main rivals as Sabah set sights for glory.
But with several notable players having exceeded the age limit, Sabah must rely on new and upcoming talents to try and make their mark.
Former State player Alan Au said said he had been working with the other coaches to try and enhance the performance of Sabah’s young players.
“We managed to finish runnersup in the Girl’s Under-13 category last year and we will do our best to try and match that achievement, although we feel this year will be very tough without some of our key players from last year.
“Nonetheless we are confident that our players will bring strong challenges in all the categories including the team event,” he said.
The national championship which is being held from November 29 to December 2, will involve some 400 participants including players, coaches and officials from 16 teams.
Sabah will be playing in Group B in the Boy’s Under-13 along with Sarawak, Labuan and Perak, while champions Kuala Lumpur are in Group A with Johor, Kelantan and Perlis.
Group C comprises Penang, Selangor, Melaka and Terengganu, while Group D will include Negeri Sembilan, Putrajaya, Pahang and Kedah.
In the Girl’s Under-13, champions Selangor are in Group P with Penang and Labuan, while Sabah are in Group Q with Melaka and Pahang.
Group R will involve Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Perlis and Perak, while Group S will see battle between Sarawak, Negeri Sembilan, Johor and Kedah.
In the Under-10 category, the champions in the Boy’s division Melaka are in Group E with Putrajaya, Johor and Negeri Sembilan, while Group F comprises Selangor, Sarawak, Terengganu and Kelantan.
Sabah are in Group G with Perlis, Pahang and Perak, while Penang, Kelantan, Labuan and Kedah are in Group H.
The Girl’s Under-10 will see a tough challenge for Sabah as they go head-to-head with champions Negeri Sembilan and Kedah in Group W.
Runners-up Selangor are in Group X with Kuala Lumpur and Johor, while Group Y comprises Penang, Sarawak, Labuan and Perlis. Putrajaya, Perak, Pahang and Melaka are in Group Z.
A welcoming dinner was held for the teams at the Sri Tanjung Seafood Restaurant last night, which was attended by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Frankie Poon as guest of honour.