Malaysian Junior Table Tennis players featuring at APSSO Championship
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN is going to organise Primary School Sports Olympiad APSSO in Indonesia at the end of this year.
Two players from Malaysia namely Derrick Tsai and Andrea Tan will be participating in the Olympiad. These players have qualified on their outstanding show of game in the qualifying rounds.
The two players participated in the Malaysian Schools Sports Council MSSM Table Tennis Championship and showed an overall excellent performance in the event. The event was held at Politeknik Shah Alam, Selangor in March 2011.
Derrick Tsai won two gold medals in Boys Singles Under-12 and the team event along with a bronze medal in the Boys Double pairing with Gabriel Ling.
Both the players are from Sarawak and they played a key role in the winning the overall championship for the first time. They won four gold medals, four silver and seven bronze medals after the introduction of the new point system. They ended up with 153
points ahead of Johor and Selangor.
Derrick Tsai is from SJK and is number three whereas Andrea Tan is on number two seed. Both of the players have emerged from Junior Development programme of the Division Table Tennis Association.
The 11-year old Derrick Tsai said “I’m very happy to play for Malaysia and wish to thank Coach Chua Khiaw Lian, Helena Wee, parents and teachers for their guidance,”
He trains t the Elite Centre at Tai-chi Centre along Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho. He plays for around average three hours a day. His cousin Clement Sim also supports him during the practice hours. Tsai sister Elicia Tsai is a trainee at the Kuching Division
Table Tennis Association (KDTTA).
The first victory for Tsai was wining bronze medal at the 21st Malaysia-Milo Hopes Table Tennis Championship in Under-10 Boys Single event. The championship was held at Kuala Lumpur in 2008. He won his first gold medal at the Sarawak Inter-Division Championship
in Under-10 Boys singles. The event was held at MBKS Indoor Stadium in Kuching. He defeated Gabriel Ling by three-nil score.
Similarly he won the Boys Team event of the Under-10 category along with single bronze medal at the 22nd Malaysia Milo Hopes. The event was staged at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. He also won silver medal in the Kuching Division Age Group. In the 23rd
Malaysia Milo Hopes held at Labuan. This time he moved a step further and won the silver medal in the Boys singles.
Wendy Lau Jun Zhen from the SMK Green Road is also selected to represent the country at the Asia Schools Sports Council Table Tennis Championship. The event will be staged from 30th June to 8th July 2011 at Singapore.
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