File photo shows Sarawak men’s doubles players in action in Sukma Perak last year.
KUCHING: The Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) will stage the State Junior Badminton Closed Tournament at SBA Hall along Jalan Lapangan Terbang here from Jan 24 to 27.
SBA secretary Abdul Hadi Kadir said entries remain open to the contested categories comprising Boys and Girls singles and doubles for Under-12, 14 and 16. Closing date for entries is Jan 17.
“We are organising this event to select Sarawak’s representatives for the coming 1st and 2nd leg tournaments of the National Junior Circuit as well as other related events,” he added.
The association is looking forward to more entries from newcomers.
“This is a good opportunity for the newcomers to compete in a state level event where they can meet and compete with players who may have already represented Sarawak in previous championships,” Hadi said.
The team managers’ meeting will be held on Jan 23 at SBA Hall at 7pm while the final round of competition will be held on Jan 27 starting at 1.30pm.
Meanwhile, Hadi revealed that SBA will soon be meeting officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports and its agencies such as Sarawak Sports Corporation and Sarawak State Sports Council to give updates on its development programme as well as calendar of event for 2019.
The association is looking for support from the State government in terms of funding in order to achieve its long-term development objectives which include the establishment of the proposed Badminton Academy under Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
“Our president Tan Sri Datuk Abdul Aziz Husain is one of BAM’s deputy presidents and he has been entrusted to make the badminton academy project a reality for the benefit of young talented players from Sarawak and Sabah.”
“We have done our strategic planning and are now eager to proceed with the implementation phase where the establishment of the proposed badminton academy is crucial in order for us to boost the pace of our development programme,” Hadi added.