KUCHING: Sarawak ended its 34-year title drought in the Malaysia Table Tennis Championship when they captured the women’s team crown at the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Hall in Kuala Lumpur last Sunday.
The state women’s team comprising Kueh Wan May, Alice Chang Li Sian, Kylie Teo Liyi, Catherine Chan Tze Yen and Angel Chan Low Yung put up a spirited display of table tennis to beat Selangor 3-1 in the team final.
Kueh was the key to the team’s success as she starred in a 3-1 (11-5, 11-9, 11-13, 12-10) win over another Sarawakian and former national paddler Ting Hie Phin in the first singles.
She then upset the odds with 3-2 victory (11-7, 5-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8) over current national player Lee Rou You in the fourth singles to hand the state team two vital points.
Her teammate Catherine Chan from Miri was up to the task when she edged Rou You 3-2 (3-11, 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9) in the second singles.
However, Alice Chang was no match for national youth paddler Amanda Wong Ee Ling and lost 1-3 (9-11, 11-7, 6-11, 7-11) in the third singles.
In the preliminary rounds of the women’s team competition, Sarawak trounced Perak 3-0 and beat Sabah 3-1 to book their place in the last eight where they blanked Kuala Lumpur 3-0. They defeated Johor 3-1 in the semi-finals to meet Selangor in the final.
Apart from the women’s team gold medal, Sarawak also bagged three bronze medals to finish in third overall after ATM (4 gold, 2 silver), and Selangor (2 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze) in the 51st national championship.
Sarawak’s bronze medals were won by Wan May in the women’s singles, Catherine Chan and Angel Chan in the women’s doubles and Chai Kiang Peng and Rayford Kho Jin Hian in the men’s doubles.
Team manager cum coach Helena Christine Wee was very pleased with the team’s performance, especially with the women paddlers.
“It is a great achievement for us as we were able to capture the women’s team gold after a lapse of 34 years. We also won in 1977 and 1980,” she told the Borneo Post yesterday.
Wee singled out Wan May for praise, saying that the three-time Sukma singles champion and former national youth paddler had done very well despite not having consistent practice due to her study for a Diploma in Business and Accounting at HELP University.
“Another good news is that Wan May has been offered by Table Tennis Association of Malaysia to join the national squad after her excellent performance in the championship,” said Wee.
According to her, this is not the first time that Wan May received the call-up for national duty and that she had turned down previous call-ups due to various reasons.
“She is still considering the new offer,” added Wee.
As for the men’s team, Wee said they had also performed well and could have finished among the top four if not for the 3-0 loss to ATM in the quarterfinals.
“ATM has the nation’s best paddlers and they are all national or former national players,” she said.
She took the opportunity to thank all the sponsors who have made the trip possible for the state team.
The next national level championship is the 27th Malaysia Milo Hopes Table Tennis Championship to be held in Melaka from Dec 1-4.