Astro badminton camp receives tremendous response

Wong Choong Hann (seated, fourth left) and coaches with the participants at the Astro Badminton Camp selection at Arena Sukan Sports Centre yesterday. — Photo courtesy of Astro

KUCHING: The response to the Astro Badminton Camp at Arena Sukan Sports Centre last Saturday was overwhelming as 282 children aged 10 to 12 years old turned up for the first selection.

Coming from Kuching, Kota Samarahan, Serian, Kapit and Miri, only 43 of them including 10 girls made the grade with a passing mark of 50 and above and underwent a second selection at the same venue yesterday.

Astro badminton head coach Wong Choong Hann was very pleased with the big turn-out and the great enthusiasm and focus displayed by the children during the selection.

“Some of them looked promising and a few of them might get selected for the intensive training in Kuala Lumpur,” the former national men’s singles ace said yesterday.

“This is the second stop for us after Johor last week and we have four more venues — Kota Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Penang and Kuala Lumpur — to go before we select the final 60 children for the Kuala Lumpur training stint.

“I think the kids here love playing badminton and they have shown great potential. They are fluent with the flow of the game and I believe they do play a lot of badminton even though they do not have the right footwork and playing techniques,” he added.

Wong’s advice to the young shuttlers is that they need to improve on their basic techniques and footwork.

“It’s not just about playing and improving on the game. You need to enjoy playing it and possess the natural instinct and to improve your game further, you must take on the tougher training.

“I do see some good potential here and I think the players need time to build their foundation and become good shuttlers eventually,” said Wong.

Wong did not disclose how many children will be selected from Sarawak as it was too early to announce the selected candidates.

“We shall only make our decision after we have completed the selection in four other venues. Of course those having the chance of being selected must score higher than the average marks, we need to see their overall game, match temperament, game plan, discipline on the court and most importantly their attitude and display of sportsmanship,” said Wong.

Astro Badminton Camp, which is into its fourth year, is a programme conducted by Astro as part of its corporate social responsibility in co-operation with the Education Ministry, Youth and Sports Ministry, Badminton Association of Malaysia and Nippon Badminton Association of Japan and aimed at uplifting the standard of badminton among the young children.

Astro Badminton Camp coaching line-up include former national doubles shuttlers Lee Wan Wah, Chew Choon Eng and Chan Chong Ming. Out of the 60 children selected from six venues for the intensive training in Kuala Lumpur, only 30 will be selected for a two-week training at the National Training Centre in Tokyo, Japan.

 

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