Abdul Karim (standing on third row from front – seventh right) joins all officials and players in a group photo, taken after the prize presentation.
KUCHING (Nov 17): The Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) has lined up seven international events to be hosted in the state next year, running throughout March until October.
In this regard, Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Sarawak Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has commended the association for putting Sarawak on the world’s tennis map by continuing to run international junior tournaments in Kuching.
“SLTA is one of the most active sports associations in Sarawak. So on March 3 to 8, they will host the Asia Oceania Pre Qualifying Event – Junior Billie Jean King Cup Under-16.
“This is followed by Asia Oceania Pre Qualifying Event – Junior Davis Cup Under-16 on March 10-15,” he told reporters in a press conference, called after closing the Second Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah Cup Tennis Championship at SLTA Tennis Centre here today.
The next international event on the SLTA calendar will be the International Tennis Federation (ITF) qualifying finals for the World Junior Tennis Competition (Boys) Under-14, on April 2-8, to be held back-to-back with the ITF World Junior Competition (Girls) on April 9-16.
“The major events of the year are the 43rd Sarawak Premier Cup ITF World Tennis Juniors J300 from April 22 to 27; and the 44th Sarawak Premier Cup ITF World Tennis Juniors J100 from Sept 2 to 7.
“Whereas the final international event (in Sarawak) will be the 18th ATF Asian Under-14 Series from Oct 13 to 18.
“These are the tournaments where the junior players from the Asian region and the world come to play before going professional and become world champions.
“Because of the confidence in SLTA by the ITF, the federation has given a grant of RM230,000 to organise the ITF Asia Oceania Pre Qualifying for Junior Billie Jean King Cup Under-16 and ITF Asia Oceania Pre Qualifying for the Junior Davis Cup Under 16; and another RM230,000 for the ITF Asia Oceania pre-qualifying events for the World Junior Tennis Competition Boys and Girls, and Asia Oceania Qualifying Final for World Junior Tennis Competition (Girls),” he added.
Earlier in his remarks, Abdul Karim – also the state Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts – congratulated SLTA for the successful organisation of his namesake tennis championship.
In his closing speech, the minister said he was thrilled to see such strong participation, with 13 teams and over 200 participants comprising the players, officials and accompanying family members.
“This tournament has brought together an outstanding line-up of divisional teams from Sarawak and our guests from Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong and Russia.
“This competition is more than just a series of matches, as it also represents an opportunity to strengthen friendships and build bridges between Sarawak’s divisions, our neighbouring regions and countries.
“Tennis has always been a sport that unites people and through this event, we hope to foster not only competitiveness, but also the spirit of camaraderie and respect, transcending borders,” added Abdul Karim.
Meanwhile, SLTA president Dato Patrick Liew, who was also present at the press conference, said the organising of the Junior Billie Jean King Cup Under-16 and the Junior Davis Cup Under-16 pre-qualifiers were awarded by the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) because of the security consideration in some countries that also bid for the hosting of these two events.
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