END OF THE ROAD: Aslina Chua (right) of Malaysia celebrates a point with her partner Lo Yan Yin of Hong Kong during the girls doubles quarter-final match against Kazakhstan’s Alexandra Grinchishina and Anatasiya Yepisheva at SLTA tennis centre yesterday. The Kazakhs however won 6-2, 4-6 (10-6).
KUCHING: Local tennis players are urged to go beyond home shores and to compete internationally.
They are also encouraged to consider tennis as their fulltime career and to eventually become professionals where lucrative prize monies are for them to compete.
For those who excelled, millions of dollars in product endorsements and sponsorships are also being offered.
“You need to dispel the myth that Asians are handicapped in size and are incapable of winning Grand Slams. Some Asian players from China, Japan, India and other countries have already proven that they can win Grand Slam, ATP and WTA titles too,” said Assistant Sports Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin.
Lee, also Assistant Minister of Communications, commended Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) committee led by their president Dato Patrick Liew for their commitment and spirit of volunteerism in organising the exciting Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup ITF Junior Tennis Championship since 2001.
“Your success in promoting tennis in Sarawak and Malaysia have not gone unnoticed and the Sarawak government will continue to support SLTA in popularising and uplifting the standard of tennis,” said Lee during the recent welcoming dinner for the ongoing event.
HARD-FOUGHT WIN: Djurabeck Karimov of Uzbekistan stretches to hit a return shot to Chayanon Kaewsuto of Thailand in the boys singles quarter-finals yesterday. Karimov won 1-6, 6-4, (7-5). — Photos by Theo Chi Wei
He urged SLTA to bid for the hosting of semi-pro men’s competitions after having successfully organised the women’s semi-pro event here last year.
“Stay focused in your development programmes to produce more players for national competitions like Sukma and international competitions like ITF,” Lee told SLTA while expressing hope for Sarawak to produce semi-pro and even professional players in the future.
“We already have Mohd Assri Merzuki who is being prepared to become a semi-pro player and we hope to produce more such players,” he added.