Liew puts a traditional Pua Kumbu scarf on Kazakhstan captain Sergei Selivanov as Wrighton (left) and Kobayashi look on. All team captains received the Pua Kumbu scarfs that night as momento.
Players, after an exhausting day at the courts, get to fill their plates at the restaurant.
KUCHING: Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) was praised by International Tennis Federation (ITF) for doing a good job in hosting three international junior pre-qualifying tournaments within a space of two weeks.
ITF Pacific Ocean development officer Darran Wrighton said this at the welcoming dinner held last Saturday for teams participating in the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Federation Cup Asia Oceania Pre-Qualifying.
A total 14 teams took part in the Junior Davis Cup Asia and eight teams in the Junior Federation Cup regional pre-qualifiers for Under-16 players.
In the previous week, SLTA had also hosted the World Junior Tennis Asia Oceania Pre-Qualifiers for Under-14 players in which 18 teams from 13 countries vied for the boy’s and girl’s categories.
Wrighton, the tennis governing body’s representative here to oversee the tournaments, presented awards to SLTA and others who served in the organising committee.
Meanwhile, SLTA president Dato Patrick Liew said the association has been involved in organising such tournaments for 15 years.
“Many of those who came to Kuching for the tournaments returned to the city as tourists. To me, that itself is another achievement,” he added.
Also present at the dinner was tournament referee and ITF silver badge holder Aoi Kobayashi from Japan, who headed the officiating of the three tournaments.