My friends from Penang Free School

Kelantan boys edge Selangor to win Under-15 cricket title

KELANTAN went one up to improve on their last season’s performance at SportExcel-Milo-MCA national Under-15 cricket circuit at the Kelab Aman in Ampang last week..
In the final, they gave away eight wickets in 40-over and edged Selangor 164-113 to emerge as champions.

Kelantan coach Zainuddin Harun said his charges were eager to secure the victory.
“It was an even match. Our boys were in good form to produce the win. Besides the students based in Kelantan, we have the services of players who are studying at two other boarding schools – Penang Free School and Kajang High School – for the tournament. Most of them have featured in the side when we went down to Penang to finish as runners-up last year,” he added.
Selangor coach P. Palanivelu said it was an achievable benchmark to register an average of four runs for each over.
“Although we had a strong batting line-up, we lost our first three wickets easily. We also gave our opponents the extra throws in the last five-over and our batsmen were taking risky chances towards the end of the match. But, it was a good effort from the young side to reach the final,” Palanivelu added.
In the preliminary rounds, Kelantan won all their matches with wins over Johor and Kuala Lumpur in their group.
They got off to a good start and thumped Kuala Lumpur 333-69 followed by a 166-121 victory over Johor.

Kelantan’s Mohamad Fikri Makram Wan Mohd Rosdi also chalked up an impressive 175 runs in the opening match against Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, Selangor topped their group to set up final match-up when they finish ahead Pahang and Penang.
In the four-day tournament, Fikri also picked up the Best Batsman and Best All-Rounder awards.
The 15-year-old who is studying at Penang Free School accumulated 285 runs including 23 boundaries and six sixes.
“We felt the pressure playing against Selangor because they were pushing us hard to register the runs. Our confidence only grew when we moved closer to wipe out their wickets,” said Fikri, who contributed 87 runs and still not out in the final.
In addition, Mohd Nasirudalin of Kelantan and Mohd Fetri Sham of Selangor were the recipients of the Best Bowler and Most Promising Player awards respectively.
Earlier in June, a total of 11 sides took part in the qualifiers held at three zones (south, north and central) and the top two sides from each zone advanced to compete at the recent national meet.
The Malaysian Cricket Association development chairman C. Sivanandan said it has been a challenge to groom the junior players with regular training camps, tournaments and international tours to match their peers from the formidable cricket nations.
“We have been hosting the Under-15 meet since 1999. Our juniors cannot be satisfied with their current achievements. They need to improve and bring their game up to another level,” added Sivanandan, who is also the association’s vice-president.

Top Badminton Player Will Be In Johor

PETALING JAYA: The return of the country’s top shuttlers to the national badminton circuit is set to spice things up in the Johor Open, which will begin in Johor Baru on Tuesday.
The Johor Open is the second leg of the national badminton circuit and it is crucial for the shuttlers to compete in Johor or they will miss out on the National Grand Prix Finals to be held in Alor Star next month.
The top players skipped the first leg in Penang, which was held at the end of August — just after the Beijing Olympics.
Heading the list of entries is world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, who is expected to be the top drawcard for the organisers in Johor Baru.
Chong Wei did not compete in the first leg and needs to play in Johor Baru if he wants to win a record-breaking seventh men’s singles national title.
Chong Wei equalled Misbun’s record of six national titles when he triumphed in Alor Star earlier this year and had stated his desire to go one better than his current coach despite a busy international calendar.
The organisers have gone out of their way to accommodate the top players by scheduling the Johor Open to end on Friday instead of the usual Sunday.
This is because most of the national shuttlers will have to leave over the weekend for the China Open, which will begin the following week in Shanghai.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) team manager How Kim Tho said a player will need to secure a semi-final appearance in the Johor Open to confirm a place in the National Grand Prix Finals.
“The top singles players, like Chong Wei and Wong Mew Choo, did not compete in the Penang Open. Our former top men’s doubles pair Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and women’s doubles pair Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty had also skipped the Penang Open. They must now compete in Johor to be eligible for the National Grand Prix Finals,” said Kim Tho.
“We only have two legs of the national badminton circuit because most of the players are committed to the international tournaments because of the Olympic campaign.”
But a semi-final appearance should not be a problem for Chong Wei, who has been undefeated in the local circuit since 2002.
The only question is whether second seed Mohd Hafiz Hashim can make it to the final to face Chong Wei. Hafiz could face stiff tests from the younger players, like Mohd Arif Abdul Latif and Tan Chun Seang, in his half of the draw.
In the men’s doubles, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong could also be given a run for their money by former national top pair Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng and the newly-crowned world junior champions Mak Hee Chun-Teo Kok Siang.































The Star

Wee Wern thrilled to break into world’s top 50

Top national junior squash player Low Wee Wern (pic) is ecstatic after breaking into the top-50 of the world rankings.
The 18-year-old Penangite, who only started full-time training after completing her O-Levels this year, is ranked No. 46 in the latest list released by the Women’s International Squash Players Association (Wispa) on Nov 1.
“I have accomplished my target for this year. However, I will continue to train harder to improve my rankings next year,” said Wee Wern.
The two-time Asian junior champion has made tremendous progress since winning her first professional title — the NSC Satellite No. 3 — in April.
She achieved the feat by disposing of the top two seeds — Lisa Camilleri of Australia and Siti Munirah Jusoh — in the semi-final and final respectively.
Wee Wern, the fourth ranked national player, then captured the Terengganu Sukma (Malaysia Games) crown in June, overcoming national No. 3 Delia Arnold in five sets.
Her good form did not go unnoticed and she was packed off for a 10-week training stint in Amsterdam under world No. 1 Nicol David’s coach, Liz Irving.
It was her first overseas training stint.
The training did wonders for her confidence and she made an excellent debut in the World Open in Manchester last month, winning both her qualifying round matches to reach the main draw, where she lost to Kasey Brown of Australia 5-11, 13-11, 4-11, 11-13 in the first round. And all her hard work on court finally paid off with her rise in the world rankings list.
“I am also happy to have undergone my first overseas training stint and earning a place into the main draw of the World Open.
“My good performances in the professional circuits have earned me a place in the national squad for the women’s World Team Championship in Egypt (on Nov 30-Dec 6),” said Wee Wern, who will be gunning for her third Asian junior title in India next year.
World No. 1 Nicol, who bagged the World Open title for the third time last month, will lead Malaysia’s challenge in the team event.
The other members of the national team are world No. 24 Sharon Wee and No. 34 Delia Arnold.

This shows that Malaysians are also competitive in sports."Malaysia Boleh"


















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