AIMING HIGH: Jason receives the champion’s trophy from Acting Samarahan District Education Officer Juhari Pawi (second right) while MSSM Samarahan secretary Clement Chong looks on during prize presentation at the Samarahan Sports Complex Indoor Stadium recently.
KUCHING: State Boys Under 18 number one paddler Jason Siaw Ting Shen is looking to do well in the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) Championships in Kelantan from Mar 25-29.
After bagging the Boys Under 18 singles title in the recent Sarawak Schools Sports Council (MSSS) Table Tennis Championships in Samarahan, Jason is confident of a top five finish in the national schools meet.
He will be competing in the Boys Under 18 singles, doubles and team events.
“I want to finish among the top five so that I can get to represent Malaysia in the ASEAN Schools Table Tennis Championships in Vietnam,” he declared.
To achieve that target, the 16-year-old form four student from SMK Kuching High is putting in at least 11 hours of training weekly to hone his skills and improve his stamina.
Jason’s coach Chua Chiaw Lian is confident that with consistent training and exposure, his protege can go far in the sport.
“Jason is the best of the new batch of up and coming players but there is still lot of room for improvement for him. He needs to continue to work hard to better his skills and techniques to make a breakthrough,” he said.
Jason is also eyeing to make the state Sukma XVI team and is preparing for a selection trial that will be held in April or May.
Jason plays with a cutter/chopper style and dreams of becoming a world class player like his idol from South Korea Joo Se Hyuk one day.
Since taking up table tennis at the age of 10, Jason has been performing well both in divisional, state and national competitions.
His best achievement was in 2012 where he won golds in the Boys Under 15 singles and team events at the National Youth Table Tennis Championships.
In the recent MSSS meet, he helped Kuching to capture the overall championship title by winning the Boys Under 18 singles, doubles and team events.
Jason is not only good in table tennis but also excels his studies, having scored 7A,1D in his PMR last year.
He felt that he was able to concentrate more on his studies after taking up table tennis as a sport.