MIRI: Foreign coaches will continue to be engaged to groom local badminton talents as part of efforts to make Sarawak a sports powerhouse in the country, Assistant Minister of Social Development and Urbanisation (sports) Datuk Lee Kim Shin said.
GOOD LUCK: Lee (7th right) handing over T-shirts to Jong (eighth right). With them are the coach, officials and players.
He added that local badminton associations would also be asked to step up their development programmes by organising regular training and tournaments and sending the players to competitions outside the state the for exposure.
“Sarawak have many good players, including those in Miri such as Eric Jong and Wilson Lau. We need to give them proper training to optimise their potential.
“Towards this end, full-time coaches, including those from overseas, will continue to be engaged to help the various badminton associations in the development of the sport and the players,” Lee said after handing over T-shirts to Miri Badminton Association (MBA) vice president Jong Lau Koo on Wednesday.
The T-shirts are for officials and the 12 players who will represent Miri in the Bintulu Open Massprofit B & G Challenge Trophy from Dec 24 to 26 in Bintulu.
Lee commended MBA for its commitment in promoting badminton, saying this had borne fruits for the sport in the Division.
“The association is not only serious about organising training programmes for members, it has also signed a coach from Indonesia to train the players, some of whom have represented Malaysia.”
Meanwhile, Jong said among the junior players who had represented the country were Eric Jong Zie Sheng, 12, who reached the doubles semi-final in the Japan Youth Open and was runner-up in the Singapore Lining Youth Tournament, and Wilson Lau Ngie Ding, also 12, who was a semi-finalist in the 100 PLUS National Junior Grand Prix Final in Pahang this year.
He said earlier this month, Wilson finished runner-up in the National Junior Invitation in Kuala Lumpur. The youngster has won many local singles and doubles tournamnents.
Two other Miri players,Yong Ping Ping, 12, and Kam Mui Li, 12, are the 2010 Sarawak junior doubles champions. Yong is also the Sarawak junior singles champion.
According to Jong, apart from Yong (Ping Ping) the other three (Eric, Wilson and Kam) are among the 12 juniors taking part in the Bintulu Open.
Their Indonesian coach, Hasmar Dwi Safri Himawan, will also play in the mixed doubles.
“We are optimistic about winning some, if not all, of the events although we know there will be stiff competition from national and regional players,” Jong said.