Liew (third left) receives the trophy from Mawan as other SLTA committee members look on.
KUCHING: The 25th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup (I) ITF Junior Tennis Championship (Grade 1) to be held here from March 17-22 is expected to see participation of 95 players from 21 countries to vie for the coveted titles.
Australia is sending the biggest team with five boys and seven girls while other countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, US, Italy, South Korea are expected to offer tough challenge as well.
Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) president Dato Patrick Liew said the event is very competitive and Kuching is among one of the two hosts for the event, apart from Thailand.
“In term of exposure, such event will put Kuching onto the world map and I strongly believe that the impact will be very strong,” he said.
Liew was met at the handing over of the Chief Minister’s Cup challenge trophy by Social Urbanisation Minister Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom, who represented Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem, at Bangunan Baitulmakmur yesterday.
“The level of play is getting higher now and by bringing foreign players to play here, it is a good exposure to our local players to be involved in a highly competitive game,” he added.
Liew said among the highest ranked players expected to participate in the competition were top seed Yamasaki Jumpei from Japan who is ranked No. 13 in the world in the boys competition, and world number 30 Zheng Wushuang in the girls competition.
“For Malaysia itself, we have two players from Kuching Alvin Teng and Linda Leong who will be with the Malaysian team to battle for the trophy.”
Liew added that SLTA as the organising body will be trying its best to give the best experience to all participating teams with the hope that they will be ambassadors for Kuching when they return to their respective countries after the competition.