16 countries vie for Girls WJT Tennis final qualifiers

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ALL CLEAR FOR TAKE OFF: SLTA organisers and team captains of participating countries after yesterday’s meeting.

KUCHING: Sixteen countries will be competing for the Final Qualifiers of the Girls World Junior Team (WJT) at the Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) Centre.

The tournament starts today and it will be continue for one week starting from April 15 – 20.

The Malaysian team will be competing in Group C with China, Taiwan and Uzbekistan.

Malaysia team captain Khairul Omar is hoping that the team will perform well enough to be in the semi-finals to go through to the next tournament.

“We are aiming for a top 10 placing this year as we finished 12th last year,” he said.

It is the second time that the Malaysian team is competing in this tournament under his guidance.

Top seed Australia will be pitted against Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Thailand in Group A.

In Group B, Japan will be vying for top spot against Singapore, Hong Kong and Philippines.

Group D comprises India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Korea.

SLTA president Dato Patrick Liew held a meeting with the captains representing the 16 countries yesterday.

“We are hoping for our Malaysian tennis team to play more professionally and improve their standards to be one of the top ranking countries for this tennis competition,” said Liew.

Liew added that the tournament can boost sportsmanship among participating teams as well as build professional etiquette in the sports field.

He also encouraged all participants to go sight-seeing and visit Kuching city during their stay here.

This is the fifth time that Kuching is hosting the Girls WJT tournament.