Hii Sieng Wee
SIBU: Rising star Hii Sieng Wee is fast making inroads into the state tennis arena.
The 11-year-old primary five pupil of SJK © Rejang Park is a direct product of Sibu Division Lawn Tennis Association’s (SDLTA) Junior Development Programme (JDP) launched in March.
Two weeks ago, Hii qualified for the MSSM tennis championship after an intense play-off when he beat two opponents from Kuching Division.
He will join four other players for the national schools championship next month.
“This is the first time in as many years that we have managed to unearth a qualifier for the MSSM championship,” SLTA head coach Simon Tiong said.
Tiong viewed Hii’s qualification as a fruitful start to their JDP programme in their aggressive push to untapped more talented players.
The JDP is a full-time programme for players aged four to six (beginner), seven to 10 (intermediate) and 11 to 16 (advanced).
SDLTA has already engaged the service of a licensed US Professional Tennis Registrar (USPTA) coach from the Philippines on a one-year contract.
“Jerome, a former top tennis player from the Philippines, will focus on the teaching of the technical and skills while I myself will be more into the management side,” Tiong added.
He appealed to parents to send their children to the training centre.
“Hopefully, parents will take up this rare opportunity and come bring their children to learn from the coach who will provide them with step by step professional approach on how to raise their playing standard.”
Meanwhile, Tiong reiterated that SDLTA main focus for this year is to produce good players to represent Sibu in the coming ATF Under-14 and also the ITF International Tennis championship.