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Andrea Tan sweeps Girls U18, U15 titles BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sports - New 2 Borneo

Andrea Tan sweeps Girls U18, U15 titles

Posted: 13 Jul 2014 02:44 PM PDT

by Ting Tieng Hee reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 14, 2014, Monday

KUCHING: Andrea Tan Ruen Yuen emerged as the best performer in the Kuching Age Group Table Tennis Competition at the Kuching Elite Table Tennis Training Centre along Lorong 8, Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho yesterday when she captured the Girls Under-15 and Girls Under-18 titles.

The 14-year old paddler from SM Lodge lifted her first title after beating Alice Chang Li Sian of SMK Sungai Maong 4-2 in the U15 final.

Joint third were Tay Lynn Jia from SJK Chung Hua No.2 and Elicia Tsai Xin Ni of SM Lodge.

Andrea completed her double win when she beat Alice Chang 4-2 in the U18 final.

Finishing joint third in this category were Kylie Teo Liyi of SMK Green Road and Elicia Tsai of SM Lodge.

In a thrilling Boys U18 final, Jason Siaw Ting Shen got the better of his opponent Andy Jong Ngu Suai from Institut Teknologi Maklumat Nusantra (NIIT) 4-3 to lift the title.

It was Andy who led 2-0 (11-4, 11-8) before Jason grabbed a point in the third set 11-9 but he lost the fourth set 6-11 to Andy.

Jason won the next two sets 11-6 and 12-10 to force the game into the final rubber set. In the final set, the scoreline went 2-2, 7-7, 11-11 and 12-12 before Andy committed errors 12-14 to concede the title to Jason.

In joint third were Clement Sim Kwong Zhi of SM Lodge and Rayford Kho Jin Hian of NIIT. The Boys U15 final saw Derrick Tsai Chang Fong of SM Lodge defeating Too Ying Chuen of SJK Chung Hua No. 2 by 4-2.

Finishing in joint third were Alan Teo Jie of SJK Chung Hua Batu 35 and Joel Chen Yu Chen of SJK Chung Hua No.2 respectively.

As an encouragement to the youngsters, the organiser Kuching Division Table Tennis Association also gave awards to three junior players.

They are Most Promising Boy Player eight-year old Kueh Jiin Jiang who was the champion in Boys U8 and third in Boys U10, Most Promising Girl Player eight-year old Too Ying Xin of SJK Chung Hua No.2 who is the Girls U8 champion and runner-up in the Girls U10, as well as the youngest participant five-year old Gilbert Kiew Shen Hong from Sunrise Kiddy House.

The competition, which was played over two weekends, saw the participation of 70 players from Kuching and Serian.

Also present at the closing were Table Tennis Association of Malaysia vice president and also Table Tennis Association of Sarawak president Michael Teo Kim Huat, KDTTA honorary chairmen Temenggong Lu Kim Yong, Wong Tiong Hock and Ngo Kie Hua.

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Support for Sudarsono’s appointment

Posted: 13 Jul 2014 02:42 PM PDT

KUCHING: Datu Sudarsono Osman's appointment by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) as the national team manager has received full endorsement from local football officials in Sarawak.

The Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) president was appointed last month together with former national player Dollah Salleh who is now the national team head coach.

FAS deputy president Datu Mohd Abu Bakar Marzuki praised FAM's decision and said Sudarsono is capable of taking the country's football to new and positive direction.

He also viewed Sudarsono's appointment as an acknowledgement by FAM of his work as FAS president in Sarawak.

"Sudarsono has done a lot for Sarawak's development in football here in the state. He is a passionate supporter of Sarawakian football and Sarawak football has gone through major improvements under his leadership," added Abu.

Support was also forthcoming from Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS) acting director Lucas Kalang Laeng.

"I am confident that Malaysia will enjoy a good spell under him. He has the qualities that can help the national team and, as Sarawakians, we are proud of him," the former state footballer said.

For Harifen Mansor who heads the Miri Football Association (MiFA) and has known Sudarsono since he headed the divisional association in 1990, Sudarsono's appointment could serve as motivation for local officials to work hard.

Among Sudarsono's initial assignments with Dollah for the national team is preparation for the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup in November.

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Two up, more to come – top archery official

Posted: 13 Jul 2014 02:42 PM PDT

by Matthew Umpang reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 14, 2014, Monday

KUCHING: A new centre of excellence for archery has just been launched in Kuching at Tabuan Heights Commercial Centre, Jalan Song here. But local officials are already calling for more to be set up.

PEMASA (Sarawak Archery Association)-Kuching president Bong Jiew Khiun has stressed the urgent need for such centres for the development of the sport.

"In Kuching, there are only two centres opened which specifically focusses on development. We need more of such centres and we hope more will be opened in the future," he said.

Bong lamented the unwillingness to open development centres which require trained coaches.

He estimated that there are less than 10 trained coaches in Sarawak.

"One of the reasons why there are not many coaches here in the state is that all candidates who wanted to become a coach must go for a course certified by the national body which is the National Archery Association of Malaysia (NAAM)," he explained.

Only coaches with a World Archery license are recognised by PEMASA and NAAM as trained coaches.

The new centre of excellence at Jalan Song – known as Frontier Archery Centre – caters for both development and recreation.

Two NAAM certified coaches are stationed at the centre.

Interested parties can contact the centre via 014-6899997 (Sia Nen Hoh) and 019-4685253 (Hii Bee Chung).

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World Cup: Germany has won the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014

Posted: 13 Jul 2014 02:36 PM PDT

RIO DE JANEIRO: Mario Goetze scored a superb extra-time winner as Germany beat Argentina 1-0 to become the first European team to win a World Cup held in South America on Sunday.

Bayern Munich star Goetze struck in the 113th minute to finally break Argentina's resistance as Lionel Messi's dream of emulating Diego Maradona ended in defeat.

The decisive moment of a World Cup brimming with wonderful goals came with penalties looming in front of 74,738 fans at Rio de Janeiro's famous Maracana Stadium.

Andre Schuerrle burst clear down the left flank and crossed for Goetze.

The 22-year-old took the ball on his chest and then volleyed past Sergio Romero to spark delirium amongst the largely pro-German crowd.

Argentina and Messi were left squandering a handful of gilt-edged chances, including one that fell to Messi in the second half.

Messi was largely anonymous for most of the evening and his miserable evening was summed up when a late free-kick to equalise sailed over the bar.

The victory was celebrated raucously by Brazilians in the crowd, who had dreaded the prospect of sworn South American rivals Argentina lifting the title in their backyard.

An absorbing first half saw Germany forced into a reshuffle moments before kick-off with inexperienced Christoph Kramer replacing Sami Khedira after the Real Madrid star injured a calf in the warm up.

With Bastian Schweinsteiger running midfield the Germans laid siege to Argentinian territory, passing smoothly and denying Messi a route into the game.

Yet for all Germany's early dominance they created little in the way of clear chances.

And it was Argentina who were presented with a glorious chance to open the scoring.

Toni Kroos misdirected a header back to Manuel Neuer to send Gonzalo Higuain racing through on goal.

But with only Neuer to beat the Napoli striker dragged his shot wide to disbelief from fans and team-mates.

Germany continued to probe for openings, and a Philipp Lahm pass almost put Thomas Mueller clear.

The pace of Argentina on the counter-attack continued to unsettle Germany however.

Schweinsteiger picked up a yellow card for bringing down Ezequiel Lavezzi just after the half hour mark.

Moments later, Argentina had the ball in the net only to see the goal disallowed for offside.

Messi released Lavezzi down the right who swept in a low cross for Higuain who drilled his finish past Neuer before wheeling away in delight.

Higuain's roar of celebration was cut short however after Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli whistled, correctly, for offside.

Germany's personnel problems deepened when Khedira's replacement Kramer himself limped off, prompting the introduction of Andre Schuerrle.

The Germans remained unfazed by the setback however, and quickly set about reimposing their control of the game.

Schuerrle drew a fine near-post save from Romero on 37 minutes with a rasping shot after Mueller's cutback.

But the latent threat of Messi meant Germany could never entirely relax.

Messi burst away down the right and raced into the box, toe-poked past Neuer only for Jerome Boateng to clear.

On the stroke of half-time Benedikt Hoewedes came within inches of scoring, crashing a header from a Kroos corner against the post.

The second half followed a similar pattern, Germany controlling possession but Argentina often threatening on the break.

Messi squandered another golden Argentinian chance two minutes after the restart, latching onto a pass from Lucas Biglia but scuffing his shot wide of Neuer.

The hard-fought nature of the contest led to a flurry of cards from referee Rizzoli, who cautioned Javier Mascherano and Sergio Aguero in quick succession for fouls on Miroslav Klose and Schweinsteiger.

The remainder of the half saw neither stride able to get on top.

Germany controlled possession without really testing Romero, while Argentina were unable to pass a German defence superbly marshalled by Mats Hummels and Boateng.

Schuerrle came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first period of extra-time, forcing Romero into a desperate block.

Penalties looked to be the likeliest outcome, but Goetze had other ideas. - AFP

World Cup: Dutch beat Brazil 3-0 to claim third

Posted: 12 Jul 2014 07:07 PM PDT

BRASILIA: Brazil ended their home World Cup to a cacophony of boos on Saturday as the defensive errors that crushed their bid for a sixth title resurfaced in a shoddy 3-0 loss to the Netherlands in the third-place play-off match.

Central defenders Thiago Silva and David Luiz were guilty of early mistakes as the Dutch scored twice in 16 minutes, sparking fears of a repeat of the 7-1 humiliation suffered in their record World Cup loss to Germany in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

That defeat was Brazil's first competitive loss at home in 39 years and brought about calls for widespread changes, with coach Luiz Felipe Scolari greeted with heavy boos when his name was read out before the kickoff in Brasilia.

Brazil have now lost back-to-back home games for the first time since 1940, and they end the tournament having conceded 14 goals altogether, the most of any side at a World Cup since 1986 and the most ever for a host team.

Scolari made six changes to his team to face the Netherlands in a bid to restore some pride after Tuesday's embarrassment but it was returning captain Thiago Silva, his loyal captain, who was to blame for the opening goal in the third minute.

The defender was fortunate to only receive a yellow card from Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi for pulling back winger Arjen Robben who was put through on goal after 90 seconds.

The Brazil skipper was clearly the last man, although the offence appeared to occur just outside the penalty area.

With the home fans watching in disbelief, Van Persie stepped up to smash in the penalty as the home fans in the stadium and throughout the Brazilian capital fell into near silence.

They found their negative voices, though, shortly after as Thiago Silva's defensive partner Luiz sent a header under no pressure to Daley Blind, who had time to take two touches near the penalty spot before firing home in the 16th minute.

It was the ninth goal Brazil had conceded in 95 traumatic minutes and the anger again came pouring down from the terraces, with boos ringing out as the once proud hosts were left embarrassed by the shambolic efforts of the beloved Selecao.

Scolari made changes at the interval as Brazil tried to find a way back into the game but they only found more misery as Oscar became the first player to be booked for diving at the tournament after trying to win a penalty with 20 minutes left.

The hosts did enjoy greater possession in the second period but the Dutch always threatened on the break and they completed the rout in stoppage time when Georginio Wijnaldum was left unmarked to turn in Daryl Janmaat's cross.

Having gone nearly 40 years without a competitive home defeat, Brazil have now suffered two in five days.

Brazil's players apologised to fans after their dire performance.

"I don't think we deserved for it to end like this," captain Thiago Silva said in a televised interview.

"We need to apologise to the fans, they booed us at the end, which is normal, they have feelings too. It's very tough."

Midfielder Oscar looked totally deflated after the defeat, which came just four days after Brazil were crushed 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals.

"What can you say. We came here hoping to win third place but we didn't, it wasn't our day," Oscar said. "We lost, there's nothing to say.

"We lost a goal in two, three minutes and we were chasing the game.

"We are all very sad, the people are very sad, but we tried and we tried till the end."

In contrast, Louis van Gaal's Netherlands leave with the consolation of taking third place and end the competition unbeaten, with their semi-final exit against Argentina only coming after a penalty shoot-out.

Dutch forward Arjen Robben said: "It was a great end — you can get rid of a bit of the shock of not going to the final, but not completely. The disappointment stays, we've been so close. We deserved more.

"I'm finished, I've given everything. We've come so close.

"That's why the third place is so deserved.

"I'm so proud of this team, compliments to them."- AFP

Five entries so far for HKL Sports Volunteer Extraordinaire award

Posted: 12 Jul 2014 10:42 AM PDT

by Philip Wong, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 13, 2014, Sunday

SIBU: The HKL Sports Volunteer Extraordinaire award, another award category under the Hii King Leng (HKL) Sports Scholarship Fund initiated by entrepreneur Dr Gregory Hii Sui Cheng, has attracted five entries from throughout the state.

They include two each from Kuching and Miri and one from Sibu.

For the HKL-Top Sports Stars (HKL-TSS) award category, a total of 24 outstanding athletes had also applied for the award when entries for both award closed on June 30.

The bulk of the applicants for the TSS award are from the central region while a few top athletes from Kuching, Miri, Meradong and Sarikei also sent in their applications.

Hii expressed satisfaction on the response towards the two awards, saying more could have applied as there were still many outstanding student athletes from other divisions who qualify for the award.

"Hopefully, more student athletes will apply for the award for the next edition as the intention of the fund is to provide encouragement for students to excel in sports and studies," he said when contacted.

Hii said he had yet to fix the date for the presentation of the awards.

The panel of judges comprises Sibu Resident Sim Kok Kee, lawyer Dato William Lau, SMK Sacred Heart principal Stephen Tang, Chinese educationist Hii Sui Ching, Rotary Club president Loh Wei Boon and Hii himself.

Touching on the HKL Sports Volunteer Extraordinaire award, Hii reiterated it was to give recognition to outstanding sports personalities or volunteers who have contributed significantly to sports in Sarawak.

He said they could include managers, coaches, leaders or even financiers who have been running organizations and working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that Sarawak stays in the forefront of sports glory.

The award carries a prize money of RM1,500 plus a gold-plated commemorative medal.

He said the whole purpose of coming up with the award was to give recognition to the deserving sports leader for their undying efforts to promote the development of sports.

"It is also to supplement the annual sports award given out by the State Sports Council," he said.

Hii said this new category of award under the HKL Sports Award was his own initiative hatched several months ago.

He was happy that his initiative eventually materialized after the HKL Sports Scholarship received an additional funding boost from his brothers.

On the HKL-TSS award, Hii said it was entering its third year and thus far, had benefited about 30 outstanding athletes from Sarawak.

Among the beneficiaries are swimmers, athletes, bowlers, volleyball players, basketball players, table tennis players and taekwondo exponents.

Each award carries a cash prize of RM600 and a commemorative medal.

A successful candidate will get the RM600 cash award per year, for a period of two years, provided the athlete can continue to represent the state for the second consecutive year.

The HKL Sports Scholarship Fund, launched by Social Development Minister Tan Sri William Mawan in 2012 and with an initial grant of RM250,000, is to commemorate Hii's father for his strong commitment towards charitable organisations and sports development in the state.

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