Sasa team manager Kong Sien Hock (second left) receives the colours from Sasa chairman Oliver Kuo (fourth left) at the flag handing-over ceremony at Bukit Lima swimming pool on Wednesday night.
SIBU: Sibu Amateur Swimming Association’s spearhead to bring back the coveted 44th Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Datuk Dr Wong Soon Kai Challenge Trophy looks blunted with the absence of several top guns.
Missing from the Sasa team of 18 boys and 10 girls are former MSSM-Milo National Most Promising swimmer Nee Gui Ping, 16, and former state swimmer Ngu Jiung Jin, 18, both of whom opted out of the Inter-Club Swimming Championship this year.
And whether their absence in Kuching is going to cause ripples among Sasa remains to be seen.
“This is a crucial year for us and we need to win in order to bring back the Cup,” Sasa chairman Oliver Kuo said at the flag-handing over ceremony at Bukit Lima swimming pool on Wednesday night.
Sasa are the overall champion for 2014 and 2015 and to bring back the three-year Challenge Cup, they need to win it this time to complete a hattrick.
Kuo admitted that it would be hard to retain the championship with a depleted team while the junior swimmers are making up the numbers. He noted there would also be new teams taking part and their strength remains unknown.
A total of 88 events in breast-stroke, freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, individual medley and relay events will be held over categories in for both the boys’ and girls’ as: Group 1 (15-17 years old), Group 2 (13-14), Group 3 (11-12), Group 4 (9-10) and Group 5 (8 years old and under).