64 teams vying for honours in Petanque Double Open meet
KOTA KINABALU: Sixty four teams will be competing in a two-days Politeknik Kota Kinabalu Petanque Double Open 2021 Championship which began yesterday, April 10.
The competition will see teams from Kota Kinabalu, Tuaran, Kota Belud, Papar and Sandakan competing in the events in conjunction with Politeknik Kota Kinabalu Silver Jubilee celebration.
Sabah Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy said the ministry welcome such events in hope to look for talented youth who could one day represent Sabah and Malaysian in international events.
He said programs such as petanque could be a platform for existing athletes to remain active in their respective sports.
“The sport of petanque has the potential to develop in Sabah, as Politeknik Kota Kinabalu have proven, and with assistance from the Sabah Petanque Association and the Petanque Club Sepanggar, I believe d more programs and tournaments can be held for various ages in the near future,” he said after officiating the Politeknik Kota Kinabalu Petanque Double Open 2021 Championship in conjunction with Politeknik Kota Kinabalu Silver Jubilee celebration here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Politeknik Kota Kinabalu Deputy Director of Academic, Captain MD Syadiqin Awang said Politeknik Kota Kinabalu Petanque Club decided to organised the Petanque Double Open 2021 Championship to commemorate Politeknik Kota Kinabalu's 25th Anniversary.
Syadiqin also said that Politeknik Kota Kinabalu have managed to produced three petanque athletes who had represented Sabah for Sukma and PKAT Politeknik Malaysia competitions.
Among the honour they have won overall team champion in the Petanque International Championships in Brunei and Kalimantan, women's singles champion in the Malaysian Polytechnic Games and the third place in the men's doubles and women's triples organized by MSN Malaysia.