Karim (centre) receives a mementofrom Lau while Snowdan looks on.
KUCHING: The Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah is pleased with the good response to the ongoing 5th CMS Borneo Junior Open Squash Championship at the Sarawak Squash Centre, Petra Jaya this week.
The five-day championship, which commenced on Tuesday, had attracted 328 junior players from 12 countries including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand, USA, Pakistan and several states from Malaysia.
“It is a pleasure to see so many participants from all over the world and the other states of Malaysia converging on Kuching, Sarawak to play in this competition.
“Sarawak is a state with diverse racial groups, cultures, religions, food and please do take some time to see the beautiful part of Sarawak.
“There are also many events going on this week.
“Players can enjoy the music at the Rainforest World Music Festival at the Open Amphitheatre which is just next to this club,” Karim said at the welcoming dinner of the CMS Borneo Junior Open Championship at The Sarawak Club on Wednesday.
Squash Racquet Association of Sarawak (SRAS) president Robert Lau Hui Yew took the opportunity to thank the Sarawak government through the Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) and the Sarawak State Sports Council for their continuous support for the development of squash in Sarawak.
“They are the ones who really drive our squash by providing us with the coaches, facilities and funding.
“On behalf of SRAS, l would also like to thank Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS) Bhd for continuously sponsoring this event. We will try to make it a bigger event with more prize money next year,” he said.
“CMS Borneo Junior Open is the best junior international meet in Asia and we hope to make it better next year,” he added.
CMS Bhd chief executive officer Isaac Lugun also pledged continuous support for the event, saying: “As the main sponsor for this event, we are very happy to note that this tournament is going from strength to strength.”
“I was just told that this year, for the first time, we have 328 competitors and that is a very huge number from so many countries.
“We have been supporting SRAS since 2009 so we hope to continue to do that. With this kind of response, it is difficult to say ‘No’,” he added.
Also present were Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Snowdan Lawan, SSC chief executive officer Dr Ong Kong Swee, organising chairman Andre Kho and other guests.