Russian boost for Sukma-bound tennis players

KUCHING (Aug 13): Russian coach Sergey Shipilov was in Kuching recently for four days to ramp up training for the Sarawak tennis team competing in the upcoming 21st Malaysia Games (Sukma).

This is according to Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) president Dato Patrick Liew, who said this was part of the final preparations for Sarawak players mounting a strong push for medals.

Tennis action in Sukma XXI will be from Aug 16 to 22 at the SLTA Centre, with six medal events namely men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles and mixed team.

“As I had mentioned before, our gold medal target is at least one gold medal, which is to repeat the feat achieved in previous Sukma in 2022. Of course, we aim to win as many medals as possible since we are playing on home ground,” Liew said.

“Other states have also improved and produced players who represent the national team. It’s a tough challenge but we will give our best,” he added.

The 31-year-old Sergey, who is based in Singapore, is no stranger to Sarawak, as he had played few times in Kuching many years ago in International Tennis Federation (ITF) youth tournaments.

“Several years ago, he was in Kuching as he volunteered to help with coaching our young players before he moved to Singapore,” Liew revealed.