Organiser hopes move will promote table tennis, boost higher participation in President’s Cup tourney
Lau (fourth left) hands over the championship trophy to a representative from De Pu Construction. Looking on at third left is Chen.
SIBU: Contenders for next edition of Sibu President’s Cup Table Tennis Championship have more to look forward to as the organiser will offer RM1,000 as the grand cash prize.
Sibu Table Tennis Association (STTA) president Temenggong Datuk Vincent Lau Lee Ming regards the incentive as the best way to boost up the turnout of teams for the event.
“The President’s Cup (championship) has been seeing dwindling number of participants and hopefully, once the prize money (proposal) is restructured, we would be able to attract more teams to take part,” he added at the closing of 2015 Sibu Table Tennis Championship last weekend.
In the Men’s Category, De Pu Construction beat RH Group 2-1 to lift the trophy, with TLP Machinery Sdn Bhd and Anti-Dadah Agency as sequential runners-up.
Cocoa Coffee A, on the other hand, triumphed in the Women’s Category, with Sibu Hospital, Cocoa Coffee B and Coffee Stall No 12 placing second to fourth, respectively.
A total of eight teams took part in the Men’s Category, and six in Women’s.
On the tournament, Lau said it used to attract more than 10 teams for each category in the past and the obvious decline in participation was a valid cause for concern.
“It seems that we are going backwards; we ought to do something to stop the dwindling number. The best solution, obviously, is to raise the prize money.”
Lau promised to offer RM1,000 for each champion team, adding that the runners-up would also receive increased amount although he did not mention the exact figure.
“It would depend on the outcome of the restructuring, and also to give due respect to the sport and players.”
On another matter, Lau reminded those sending their teams to focus on quality, not quantity.
“We want every team to be complete; those who come truly for the title. This will make the game more interesting, challenging and filled with lot of excitement,” he added.
In order to be fully prepared, Lau said they would start recruiting and assembling teams now in preparing for the next year’s edition.
Earlier in his brief remarks, STTA chairman Dr Clement Chen proposed for a change in entry rules for the next edition of the President’s Cup — again, in order to attract more teams.
“Hopefully, we could get more teams, especially those from the public sector, to join.”
Additionally, Chen said it had been a fruitful year for STTA with numerous tournaments beung run throughout the year — all of which aimed at uplifting the standard of the sport.
“The only way to popularise table tennis is to stage more tournaments.”