Chen (left) presents the trophy to Girls U12 champion Fion Soh while Ling looks on.
SIBU: The Sibu Table Tennis Association chairman Dr Clement Chen said a champion player was not born natural but nurtured through hard work and perseverance.
“There is no shortcut to success. To be a champion, you have to work hard,” he said at the closing of the Sibu Division Inter-school Table Tennis Championship held here recently.
A total of 15 schools took part in the championship aimed at selecting outstanding players for the state-level championship to be held in Kuching in early February.
Chen said all players aimed to become a top-notched player one day but not everyone could achieve their ultimate dream.
“It is never easy to be a champion. You need to juggle between your studies and training. You need to put in a lot of hard work.
“You also have to sacrifice a lot of your time by not watching television, playing electronic games or chit-chatting on the social media. To be a champion, there is no time for indulging in all those activities,” he added.
Chen said those who failed to become champions only had themselves to blame.
“Everything you want is outside your comfort zone and you just have to train hard and struggle to get it.”
He singled out a few players who had performed excellently at the championship.
“These are the players who have come to the table tennis hall to train regularly and it is no coincidence that they emerged champions in their respective categories.”
Earlier, in her brief address, SMK Tung Hua principal Ling Chai Ping said Sibu paddlers were fortunate to have a big hall for training and staging other activities. She was also grateful to Chen for providing the motivation and inspiration to the players to put more efforts in popularising the sport.
“Chen is very instrumental about table tennis and with him at the helm, there is every reason the sport will continue to hit greater heights for a long time to come,” she added.