Proposal for ‘more prestigious’ sepak takraw tourney
KUCHING: A proposal has been offered to raise the profile of the sepak takraw tournament for the Datuk Bandar Cup. The suggestion was made by none other than Kuching North Datuk Bandar Hilmy Othman who was delighted that this year’s competition had received encouraging participation.
“I recommend that DBKU take a step forward to host a more prestigious sepak takraw competition in the future. Therefore, I suggest that we engage with sepak takraw team organisations in Kuching as well as non-government organisations (NGO) to ensure we can host a more prestigious city-level sepak takraw completion next year,” he said during the closing ceremony of the 2023 edition.
Kuching’s AJ Team 2 won 20 against KAJAS 12 to lift the Datuk Bandar Cup. DBKU and KMKB finished joint third as losing semi-finalists.
The cash prizes comprised RM3,000 (champion), RM1,000 (runner-up) and RM500 each (joint third).
The tournament, held at Stadium Perpaduan since Sept 8, reached its climax with the semifinals and final on Sunday.
37 teams including those from Miri, Sri Aman and Betong participated in the competition open to all Sarawakians.
Hilmy Othman also highlighted the value of sports in uniting people, regardless of race, age and religion, and promoting health.
“Through sports activities like this, it gives us a chance to be involved together and provide opportunities to work together and understand one another, as well as forming bonds with each other.
“By organising programmes that integrate health like this, it aligns well with our goal of producing active and productive citizens,” he explained.
Also present was DBKU director Mohamed Khaidir Abang, Sarawak Sports Corporation CEO Awang Putrayusrie Awang Redzuan; Department of Infrastructure Services (DBKU) deputy director Mohamad Faisal Adenan, DBKU division head cum chairman of the organising committee Emil Rosainie Mohamad Hussaini and Upper Satok president Abang Kamarul Zaman Bujang Drashid.