Azlan teams up with squash association to develop sport

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KUCHING: Squash Racket Association of Sarawak (SRAS) has teamed up with national player Mohd Azlan Iskandar to adopt the Bau training centre in the effort to develop squash in the state.

The centre will be the third of squash centres adopted by Azlan under the Azlan Iskandar Squash Academy (AISA) programme after Terengganu and Selangor.

“Azlan had announced his retirement from PSA World Tour early this month but he will still play for Malaysia in the Asian Championship and Asian games,” said SRAS chairman Robert Lau Hui Yew.

He said SRAS was fortunate to have the 30-year-old world number 10 ranked player’s help in developing young players.

“Azlan, who is also from Kuching, wants to contribute back to the state by helping develop young talents to become professional players,” said Lau.

He said the Bau centre was one of the development projects carried out by SRAS to produce future champions from the Bidayuh community.

“We attracted more than 140 players from primary schools in the Bau area during a clinic we organised last year,” revealed Lau who added that after four months, the interest in the game diminished with the lack of coaches and there are only eight players now actively training at the centre located within the Redeems Centre at Singgai.

“Azlan will be coming back to Kuching this week to attend the welcoming dinner for the Kuching Leg of the CMS S1 Squash Circuit. He will be visiting the Bau centre on Monday and we are hoping that his presence there will help to re-ignite the interest in squash among the school children,” added Lau.

He said SRAS will be getting another coach to help train the players in Bau.

“We are hoping to produce a Pandelela of squash and we threw a challenge to the eight players when they were competing in the Sibu leg of the CMS S1 Squash Circuit,” he said.