Saturday October 29, 2005
Squash tourney draws 45 teams
By NG WEI LOON Photo by RICKY LAI
A TOTAL of 45 teams have confirmed their participation for the Selangor-Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ) Under-13 and Under-17 Inter-Team Squash Championships to be held at the Astaka Squash Courts in Petaling Jaya from Nov 30 to Dec 3.
The tournament has four categories – girls’ Under-13, boys’ Under-13, girls’ Under-17 and boys’ Under-17.
Each team will comprise four players. Each team is only allowed to field its top two players in the Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) and Singapore Squash Rackets Association (SSRA) rankings.
“The response from the club-based sides in Singapore has been overwhelming. So far, they have registered 25 teams for the tournament.
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Chai (left) and Ng (right) presenting, respectively, Prince and Milo’s contributions to Lim (second from right). The sponsorship presentation was witnessed by Ahmad Termizi. |
“Besides the competition, the visitors can look forward to enjoying their holiday here. The event also provides a platform for junior players from both countries to interact with each other,” said Selangor Squash Association vice-president Datuk C.K. Lim at the sponsorship presentation.
MPPJ president Datuk Ahmad Termizi Puteh, SRAM executive director Wong Ah Jit, Nestle Products sports marketing manager Ng Ping Loong, Sportsmatch Marketing Sdn Bhd marketing manager Chai Boon Keong and MPPJ squash develop programme co-ordinator Mary Ong were also present at the ceremony.
“We will continue to organise this tournament as part of our effort to develop the game at the grassroots,” said Ahmad Termizi.
A total of 20 local teams – Selangor (18), Kuala Lumpur (1) and Pahang (1) – have confirmed their entries.
Ong said 40 trainees from the MPPJ Under-13 squash programme are set to graduate.
“Although we have been exposing them to various individual tournaments, we want them to cherish the value of team spirit. So we have entered them for this team event.
”Each tie is decided by four matches. In the case of a draw, a countback, based on sets followed by points, will decide. So, players have to fight for every point.
“This tournament will allow us (Selangor) to evaluate the strength of our Under-17 players for next year’s Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Kedah,” Ong added.
The event offers RM8,800 in prize money. The champions of each category stand to win RM1,000. The runners-up and third-placed teams will receive RM700 and RM500 respectively.
“The Singapore juniors are looking forward to competing here against stiffer opposition,” Wong pointed out.
“In fact, they have also requested for our competition calendar next year. They are keen on taking part in our tournaments.
“We are urging state teams to take part in this tournament held in conjunction with the year end school holidays.”
The organisers can accommodate a maximum of 16 teams in each category. Entries close on Nov 15. For more details, contact Henry Tan at 013-388 5375.
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