KUCHING: Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) is hoping to unearth new talents when the Sarawak State Schools Sports Council (MSSS) Tennis Tournament kicks off this Jan 28-30.
The inter-division competition will be hosted by Samarahan division this year.
According to SLTA president Dato Patrick Liew, the competition has never failed to produce exciting young and new talents.
“Talent scouting is an ongoing process. It is important that we continue to look to the schools for new talents. As in past, most of the best state players were discovered at school level,” he said to thesundaypost.
“These youngsters should be encouraged as early as possible. I hope that many schools and students will register themselves for the coming MSSS tournament. We want more potential youngsters to represent the state and hopefully the country,” he commented.
Sarawak enjoyed a good tennis season in 2012 with some of our state players producing impressive results at both the national and international circuits.
Among those who made headlines last year was the recently crowned BMW Malaysian National Circuit 2012 Women’s Open winner, Aslina Chua.
She has earned a wildcard entry for the BMW Malaysian Open 2013 competition which will be held next month in Kuala Lumpur.
Apart from Chua, there are also other young state players rising up the ranks with the likes of Alia Azman, Aiman Hamdan and Alvin Teng Wee Jie, just to name a few.
“I can’t see why we are can’t be optimistic about our young tennis talents. We have enough facilities and expertise to groom our young talents here in Sarawak,” said Liew.
Apart from the role of the association, he added that parents play a vital role in shaping young athletes and guiding them if sports become their chosen career option.
Liew also expressed the hope that new blood will help maintain Sarawak’s tennis prowess.