Young tennis talents showing promise

YOUTHS training under Johor Tennis Association (JTA) have been performing well in competitions held at national and international levels.

JTA development programme technical director Luqman Hakeem Abdul Rahim said 17 of their players from the Under-8 to Under-16 categories took part in Tennis Malaysia Masters at the National Tennis Centre in Kuala Lumpur last December.

“In the Boys’ Under-12 category, our player Jacob Wong Yong Tsern, 11, swept through the group stage with three wins, defeating players from Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan.

“In the semi-final, he defeated his opponent from Sarawak.

“In the final, Jacob brushed aside his opponent from Kelantan to capture his second Masters title.

“He won last year’s Boys Under-10 title,” Luqman Hakeem said when interviewed.

In the Girls’ Under-12 category, Amanda Teng Wen Si defeated her twin Audrey Teng Wen En in the final to clinch the gold medal.

Another JTA player, Isabella Rihanna Mohammad Azim, eight, reached the final of the Girls’ Under-10 event.

JTA players taking part in daily training sessions.

“We are also excited about another up-and-coming player, seven-year-old Wan Nur Qaseeh Sumaiyah Wan Mohd Khairulnizam, who reached the Girls’ Under-9 semi-final,” said Luqman Hakeem, who is involved in coaching.

Apart from the Masters event, he said Johor players also did well at International Tennis Federation’s Asia Oceania team pre-qualifying round in Brunei recently, where Amanda and Audrey won the bronze.

Luqman Hakeem added that JTA currently had 50 players training daily in the junior development programme.

He said the association aimed to unearth more new talents this year through its junior tennis initiative (JTI) across the state.

“JTI is an International Tennis Federation programme to give a platform to children around the world to play tennis.

“As part of our JTI outreach, we visited SK Taman Perling at the end of last year to give pupils a feel for the sport.

“We hope the programme will be a launching pad for competitive players.

“The programme also provides opportunities for aspiring tennis coaches, school teachers and administrative organisers to become involved.

“They are vital in encouraging more children to take up tennis.”

Besides youth programmes, JTA was also involved in organising tennis competitions for adults and also in the corporate sector, he added.

Parents who hope to enrol their children in JTI can contact JTA for enquiries via the association’s Facebook page.