By Ting Tieng Hee (Borneo Post)

A new centre by next year, Sarawak BA expects more high-quality tournaments

KUCHING: Sarawak Badminton Association (BA) will have a new badminton centre by next year which will enable it to organise tournaments of international standards.Sarawak BA secretary Abdul Hadi Abdul Kadir said the new centre would be built on a three-acre site next to State Indoor Stadium in Petra Jaya.

“The land is given to us by the state government through Ministry of Social Development and Urbanisation and we are now in negotiations with a developer to build the centre which will cost a few million ringgit,” he said at the State Junior tournament at Sarawak BA Hall here yesterday.

Hadi said the centre would be a fully structured complex complete with training ground, tournament venue, spectators gallery, gymnasium, cafeteria, administrative block, ample parking spaces, audiovisual room, changing rooms and toilets.

“Another important facility will be the hostel which can accommodate players from overseas coming here to train with our players and those coming from outstation to compete in tournaments organised at this centre,” he said.

Hadi said there would be a dozen courts for training and a dozen more for holding competitions.

“The training courts can also be converted into a competition ground when the need arises,” he added.

With the new centre, Hadi said Sarawak BA could organise bigger local tournaments that could involve the participation of more players.

He noted that the present Sarawak BA Hall, which has only six courts, is now insufficient to meet the growing needs of the sport in Kuching and the state.

Meanwhile, Sukma players Ting Sing Kiat and Kong Chee Kiet had to dig deep into their reserves to see off the challenge of Pacific Badminton Management’s pair of Andy Ng and Lai Zing Neng in the Under-18 boys doubles final.

Sing Kiat, who played in the 2008 Terengganu Sukma, and Chee Kiet, who is a Sukma XIII shadow team player, took three sets to subdue the seventh seeds yesterday.

The SBA-UPSTN and SBA-MR combination lost 15-21 in the first set but came back strongly to force a rubber by winning the second set 21-17.

Both pairs played point for point in the rubber and were tied at 19-19 and then 21-21 but it was Sing Kiat and Chee Kiet who held on to win 23-21.

En route to the final, Sing Kiat and Chee Kiet had a bye in the first round; beat Pacific’s Charles Chieng/Kelvin Yap 21-16, 21-5 in the last eight and overcame the pair of Danny Lim and Tiong Chee Seng from Sibu Division BA 21-16, 21-13 in the semi-finals.

This victory has made up for the disappointment on Saturday after both were bundled out of the U-18 boys singles competition.

The tussle for the U-18 boys singles title was a short-lived affair as Zing Neng retired after leading Andy 11-8 in the first set, obviously seen as a strategy to conserve energy for the fight in the boys doubles final.

Pacific added another win to its list when top seed Jong Wee Fook beat second seed Lau Yi Ping from SBA-MR in straight sets of 21-19, 21-16 in the U-15 boys singles final.

The U-15 boys doubles crown went to the pair of David Ngiam and Lau Yi Ping from SBA-MR who defeated Eric Jong and James Liaw from Miri Division BA 22-20, 21-17 in the final.

It also took Miri Division BA’s Wilson Lau, seeded second, three sets to win the U-12 boys singles final, beating teammate and top seed Kam Sing Siong 19-21, 21-15, 21-6.

Meanwhile, Mary Wong of Sibu Division BA and Tan Ann Ching of Pacific won the U-18 girls doubles title after remaining unbeaten in four matches in the competition based on a league format.

They beat Envira Lee and Irene Bong of Kuching Division BA 21-9, 21-9 in their opening match, followed by a 21-15, 21-13 win over Siti Noorizan Hamid/Vivian Chua of Lawas Division BA; 12-21, 21-18, 21-18 win over the Kam sisters Ka Li and Mun Li of Miri Division BA, and a 21-17, 21-15 win in the final match against Lee Sing Fung and Wong Siew Jiun of Sarikei Division BA.

Ann Ching scored a fine double when she beat Ka Li 21-11, 21-12 in the U-18 girls singles final.

Miri Division BA’s pair of Mitchelle Tiong and Vinnie Liong captured the U-15 girls doubles title after they beat Bong Sook Jong and Michelle Kong of Pacific 21-16, 18-21, 21-2 in the final.

The U-15 girls singles title was won by top seed Michelle after she defeated Vinnie Liong of Miri Division BA 21-15, 21-9 while Grace Ngiam of SBA-MR bagged the U-12 girls singles crown by beating Pacific’s Chai Hui Ching 21-9, 23-25, 21-17.

The three-day tournament organised by Sarawak BA saw 154 players vying for honours in the U-12 girls and boys singles, U-15 girls and boys singles, boys and girls doubles, and U-18 boys and girls singles as well as boys and girls doubles.

It was aimed at selecting players to represent the state at the National Junior Circuit Inter Team tournament in Kuala Lumpur from December 28-31.

The champions of each category have automatically booked their places in the state squad but the list of players will only be announced after a Sarawak BA committee meeting.