S’wak chosen as location for Astro badminton camp

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FLYING HIGH: Saravanan (right) and Tan serving souvenir shuttlecocks to participants of the Kem Badminton Astro at Ayer Keroh last Saturday.

AYER KEROH: Sarawak is among six states selected for the Kem Badminton Astro tryout series.

The other states are Sabah, Melaka, Pahang, Penang and Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory.

The broadcasting corporation started their tryout sessions here last Saturday.

After Melaka, the series will move on to Kuantan, Pahang before proceeding next to Kuching on Sept 28.

The camp tryout programme is a joint venture between Astro Kasih, the corporation’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm, and the Nippon Badminton Association.

Nippon Badminton Association is a youth development programme in Japan that aims to identify and nurture the badminton playing techniques of talented young children.

According to Astro chief operating officer Henry Tan, the programme will select 30 youngsters, aged 10 to 12, from the six states to be sent to Japan for further training with the country’s Kanto Junior Team,  under Nippon Badminton Association coaches.

Selected participants will be notified after all tryouts have been carried out.

In Japan, they will undergo intensive training for two weeks at the Ajinomoto National Training Centre.

They will be housed at the prestigious Athlete Village there.

The Malaysian contingent can look forward to a friendly match with Japan’s Kanto Junior Team to test their badminton skills.

Tan was speaking to reporters after officiating at the tryout session here with Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk M Saravanan. Astro Community Affairs director David Yap was also present.

Shigemitsu Imai, Nippon Badminton Association secretary, said his association is looking forward to a fruitful relationship with Astro.

“I am sure both the Malaysian and Japanese young participants will forge new friendships and gain new learning experiences from each other. It will be an exchange of learning skills and memorable cultural experiences,” he added.

Before flying to Japan, the 30 selected players will first undergo intensive training in Kuala Lumpur.