Malaysian youngsters face uphill battle at SLTA centre

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Rozana with (from second left) Lynn, Idaana and Eadani having a break during practice session at SLTA Tennis Centre last Saturday.

KUCHING (March 20): The Malaysian team are not setting any target in the World Junior Team Girls Asia-Oceania Final Qualifying Tournament which commences at the Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) Tennis Centre today.

This is because it will be much tougher compared to the pre-qualifying tournament in Sri Lanka in February when they beat Singapore in the final.

Malaysia is represented by 12-year-olds Lynn Lim and Daania Daniella Abd Hazli and 11-year-old Adani Raihan Muhammad Azhari.

“Yes, it is tougher compared to the pre-qualifying round in Sri Lanka, but our target is to improve our current position (14th to 16th) by winning two matches in Group C.

“They (Lynn and Idaana) have the experience playing in U14 tournaments and this tournament and l hope they can give a good account of themselves,” said team captain Rozana Mohd Mahfudz.

However, their campaign is made harder as they have to play against the fourth seeded Japan in their opening Group C match today. Their second match is against eighth seeded Uzbekistan and then Sri Lanka in the final match.

Teams in Group A are top seeded Australia, fifth seeded Kazakhstan, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei while in Group B are third seeded Thailand, sixth seeded South Korea, Nepal and Iran. Group D comprises second seeded India, seventh seeded Hong Kong, Singapore and Lebanon.