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17th July, 2012
KOTA KINABALU: Lake View (Wilson) of Petaling Jaya retained their title at the 5th Sabah Invitational Team Tennis Tournament 2012 last weekend for the third year in a row.
The victorious team walked away with a cash purse of RM4,500 and Wilson merchandise.
The tournament governed by the ITF and by-laws of the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM) is also known as the 1Malaysia Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor Challenge Trophy.
10 teams from Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Sandakan, Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore participated on July 13-15 where the format consisted of five doubles for various age categories for the men and a ladies’ double for age group 35 years and above where the men competed in doubles for ages 25, 35, 45 and 55 years old and above.
The inaugural Sabah Team Tennis Tournament was held in 2008 and aims to promote the game as well as boost sports tourism which has contributed to the state’s economic growth significantly.
It is the aim of the organiser to develop local players by exposing them to compete against foreign teams and at the same time to foster camaraderie among all concerned.
In 2010, Datuk Seri Panglima Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, was appointed the patron of the event and sponsored the trophy which was named after her.
The event is organised by the Sabah Tennis Association (STA) with Daniel Tan as the tournament chairman where sponsors include Sutera Harbour Marina, Golf & Country Club (SHMGCC) and Waterfront Urban Development Sdn. Bhd while 100Plus as the official drink.
This year’s teams were evenly matched in the winner’s pool; however Lakeview Wilson PJ had a slight edge due to its balance of players in all categories where they were well prepared to face the Philippines and Indonesian teams.
But due to last minute circumstances both teams could not participate although they submitted their list earlier.
KK Frenz was second runners-up by a whisker after winning two and losing two but on count-back, won more sets.
The third and fourth runners-up were determined on the number of games won as they were tied in all matches and sets.
Team managers expressed satisfaction by the event and were happy with matches and hospitality provided. The matches went ahead smoothly despite the rain thanks to the covered court provided by Sutera Harbour Resort.
The winners received their prizes from STA President Johnson Koh and SHMGCC general manager Brian E. Werner.
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