Miri, Kuching share spoils at inaugural SSC junior tennis tourney

KUCHING (Dec 4): Miri and Kuching shared the spoils at the inaugural Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) Junior Age Group Masters tennis tournament, which concluded at the Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) tennis centre yesterday.

Miri, which fielded a big contingent of 39 players, bagged six titles, while Kuching grabbed the remaining five in the three-day event, organised by SLTA and supported by SSC and Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS).

Aaron Kho clinched the Boys Under-18 title for Miri after having outplayed Ryan Radcliffe Scott Mervin from Sarawak Sports School SMK Tabuan Jaya (SSTJ) 4-1, 4-1 in the finals.

At joint third were Roland Manggal and Isaac Baga, both from SSTJ.

Aaron also secured a double victory after having bounced back from one set down 0-4 to beat second-seed Emir Effendy Erwin Effendy 4-1, 10-4 in the Boys Under-16 final.

In the semi-finals, he upstaged the tournament top seed Ryan Radcliffe 4-1, 4-1. The joint third-finishers were Federer Tagang of Sarikei and Ryan Radcliffe.

Chin Yi Chung added another title to Miri’s tally, having scored after 4-1, 4-0 against Ethan Law of Kuching in the Boys Under-14 finals, while at joint third were Mohammad Zulkarnain Joslie of Miri and Joel Abril of SSTJ.

Ethan, however, made up for the disappointment by taking the Boys Under-12 title after beating Miri’s Raphael Lian Jau 4-0, 4-0. At joint third were Kingsley Au Yu Heng of Kuching and Arifuddin Abdul Aziz of Miri.

Meanwhile, Miri made a clean sweep of the top honours in the Girls Under-12, with Nur Elsa Mohamad, Tisha Lo, Erin Joan Ha Xin Yi and Ember Devong Eugene placing first to joint third, respectively.

Tiong Rui Jing claimed the Girls Under-18 crown after defeating Nur Elsa Mohamad Ishan 4-1, 5-3 in an all-Miri finale, with Estherfania Madon and Hazellyn Anyun, both of SSTJ, in joint-third positions.

Adding to Miri’s glory was Iffa Imelda Sito Yuthong, who won over Federyyn Beji of Sarikei 11-6, 19-17 in the Under 8 (Unisex) showdown.

Other champions from Kuching included Angelina Wong who won the Girls Under-16 and Under-14 finals after beating Hii Kah Ling of Sibu 4-0, 5-4(4) and Nur Alya Mohamad of Miri 4-0, 4-0 respectively; Brad Milan Lee who beat teammate Aaron Au Yu Chen 4-1, 4-1 in Boys Under-10; and Ariel Caitlin Nain who defeated Ting Zhi Hui, also of Kuching, 4-1, 4-0 in Girls Under-10.

Ninety-eight junior players including those from Sibu, Sarikei and Bintulu took part in the tournament.