A Sibu player goes flying after tangling with two Sarikei players in the U12 boys match.
KUCHING: Teams from 10 divisions are taking part in the Sarawak schools hockey championship which kicked off on Monday.
The 11-a-side (20 minutes per half) tournament for Under-18 and Under-12 is being held at Sarawak Hockey Stadium.
In the U12 girls draw, five teams – Serian, Kuching, Mukah, Betong and Bintulu – are in the hunt.
The above five plus Samarahan, Sibu and Sarikei are vying for honours in the boys U12.
The U18 boys and girls also have eight teams each in the draw.
Kuching are defending their U18 boys title against the challenge of Serian, Miri, Bintulu, Kapit, Sibu, Mukah and Betong.
Meanwhile, the Kuching U18 girls have to contend with Serian, Miri, Mukah, Betong, Sibu, Sarikei and Bintulu to defend their title.
A total of 29 teams from the 10 divisions are competing in the four-day tournament.
“It is a record number of teams participating. We are really pleased with the interest shown towards this tournament,” said tournament technical committee chairman R. Kanagarajah.
He is with the Serian Division Education Department which is convening this year’s championship.
On the opening day, Kuching U18 boys, coached by Ali Rahman, opened their title defence with a 3-0 win over Miri.
In an U18 girls match, Kuching coach Katherine Lambor’s team stamped their superiority with a 5-0 thumping of Miri.
The tournament is scheduled to run until Thursday.