SMK Penrissen roar off with rout in TNB League

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Mary (seated second left) with the organising committee of the inaugural TNB Sarawak Hockey League.

Mary (seated second left) with the organising committee of the inaugural TNB Sarawak Hockey League.

KUCHING: School hockey powerhouse SMK Penrissen got off to a roaring start in the Boys’ Under-17 competition of the inaugural TNB Sarawak Hockey League at Sarawak Hockey Stadium yesterday when they routed SMK Green Road 13-0 in a Group B opener.

Their next games will be against 1Mas on Oct 8 and Sakura on Oct 16. The other game yesterday saw Warriors Hockey Club from Miri edging Tasik Biru 5-3.

Organising chairperson Datin Mary Sadiah Zainuddin said the Hockey Association of Sarawak (HAS) is pleased with the encouraging response to the league which is sponsored by Tenaga Nasional Bhd.

“A total of 340 players from 17 teams will be battling it out for the titles in the Boys’ Under-17, Men’s Open and Women’s Open,” she said.

There are seven teams in the Boys’ Under-17 competition which is divided into two groups, four teams in the Men’s Open and six in the Women’s Open which are played based on league format.

Teams in Men’s Open are Tasik Biru, Muara Tuang Old Boys, Warriors Hockey Club Miri, IPG Batu Lintang and teams in the Women’s Open are Runite HC, 1Mas (U15), Hornbill Apprentice (U14), SMK Green Road, Project Park All Div (PPA) and Luctor Emergo.

Boys’ Under-17 teams include SMK Matang Jaya, SMK Paku and SMK Bako in Group A, and SMK Penrissen, SMK Green Road, Sakura and 1Mas in Group B.

“It is our hope that through this league, we will discover new young talents to be brought into our elite development programme, revive and popularise hockey at grassroots level and establish hockey as a competitive sport at state level.

“This is the first competition organised by HAS since the official merger of the Sarawak Hockey Association and the Sarawak Women’s HA in October last year,” added Mary who is HAS president.

According to her, the official opening ceremony of the league will be held next Saturday (Oct 1) with the closing scheduled for Oct 29.

“All matches will be played at SMK Paku hockey stadium and the Sarawak Hockey Stadium over the weekends. The public is welcome to watch the games and support their teams,” she said.

Mary also took the opportunity to record HAS’ acknowledgement and appreciation to TNB for the sponsorship which will go a long way to develop hockey in Sarawak.