(Standing centre in light blue shirt) Lee pose with players and organisers last Saturday.
MIRI: Assistant Sports Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin has challenged organisers of the Miri May Fest 6th Open Petanque Doubles Championship to try for tournaments of the regional and international level.
This, he believed, would further popularise the sport especially among locals.
“I am happy that the sport is gaining its popularity among the people and today we have 65 teams competing, that is 25 teams more than last year,” he added when opening the championship on Saturday.
The two-day event was organised jointly by the Miri Division Petanque Association, the Sarawak Petanque Association (Pepsar) and the Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS) Miri Division.
Organising and Miri Division Petanque Association chairman Hinsan Raiee was happy with the continued support from Datuk Lee and the enthusiastic response of players from Brunei, Sabah, Semenanjung Malaysia, Sarawak and Miri.
“We hope that this championship will spur more players to excel in the games. Our next target is petanque players from Miri will bring glory during the next Sukma,” he added.
His association, he said, are promoting the sport in both primary and secondary schools.