Georgetown BC excited about making JPL debut
GEORGE TOWN: Debutants Georgetown BC are excited about kicking off their participation in the Junior Purple League (JPL) badminton tournament in front of their home supporters today.
The second season of the Under-19 JPL, which is now a two-tier competition, begins with the first round matches today and tomorrow at the Tan Sri Azman Hashim Sports Arena in Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang.
Georgetown BC, one of the eight new clubs in the expanded 19-team JPL this year, want to prove they are not just making up the numbers in Division Two.
“We have been preparing for this competition for the past three months and we’re ready for it,” said Georgetown BC chief coach Felix Ooi.
“This is the first time that the competition is being held in Penang. Everyone in the team is excited to play the opening weekend in front of the home supporters. We intend to capitalise on the home advantage and win all our three matches in Penang.”
Georgetown BC were set up last year to fill the need for a northern-based club to cater for young players from the region.
Felix pointed out that the Georgetown BC shuttlers with previous experience of playing in the JPL had to cope with frequent long distance travelling when they featured for Klang Valley-based clubs last year.
“We felt there was a need for this region to be represented in the JPL as the northern states continue to produce top badminton talents for the country.
“Having a team like Georgetown BC in the JPL makes it easier for some of the young players who may find it difficult to travel to train and play for the Klang Valley-based teams,” said Felix.
Georgetown BC will be banking on the likes of Goh Ewe Lean, Liew Jun Rong, Ng Eng Cheong, Lim Jie Ying, Yon Siew Theng and Chan Qi Yong to guide them through in the best of 11-format round robin matches.
“Although we want to win as many matches as we can, we are not expecting miracles from our players. They will be up against some of the best junior shuttlers in the country and foreign players as well.
“Our main objective is to identify and develop a strong group of young badminton players in the northern region,” said Felix, who coaches Georgetown BC with Zainul Hafiz.
He picks Subang BC as the favourites to win Division Two, while Serdang BC and defending champions Petaling BC will be the teams to beat in Division One.
Ten teams in Division One teams and nine in Division 2 will compete over three weekends from today until Oct 16 in Penang, Cyberjaya and Ampang Jaya.
After the JPL, all the teams will compete in the Junior Champions Challenge (JCC), a knockout competition to be held in Bukit Serdang from Oct 20-23.