Juniors vie for overseas sponsors at Hemaviton Tennis Challenge

Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

More than 250 athletes will take part in the second series of the Hemaviton Junior Tennis Challenge in Surabaya, East Java, from Aug. 18 to Aug. 24.

The second series was originally scheduled to take place in Jakarta, where the first series was held.

But organizers decided to move the tournament to the capital of East Java, saying they wanted to encourage and identify talented players outside Jakarta.

"We believe that if we organize more and more junior tournaments outside of the capital, we will be able to find more talented players," Yayuk Basuki, the chairwoman of the organizing committee, said during a media conference here on Monday.

The tournament will take place at the Embong Sawo and Wuni tennis complex in Surabaya.

The Hemaviton Challenge includes boys' and girls' U-14 and U- 18 singles and doubles events.

With the top players in the event getting an opportunity to secure sponsorships for overseas tournaments, the organizers will asses the players using a combined score from the first and second series.

Winners will be awarded 100 points, while runner-ups and semifinalists will receive 75 points and 50 points, respectively.

The top 16 players based on total points will go through to the Master Series Challenge in October, the winners of which will be entitled to a series of overseas tournaments in 2004, complete with financial support from the sponsors.

In the first series, Agung Bagus Dewantoro and Mia Sacca won the boys' and girls' U-14 singles events, respectively. The U-18 singles titles went to Sunu Wahyu Trijati in the boys' category and Maya Rosa in the girls'.

Yayuk said financial assistance for the overseas tournaments would be given in the form of transportation and accommodation.

"We will draw a map of which tournaments the players are going to participate in," said the Indonesian former star, who who broke the top 20 in the women's international rankings during her playing career.

The winner of the U-18 boys' singles event in the first series, Sunu, said the opportunity to secure financing for overseas tournaments was providing him additional motivation to win the event.

"I can't wait to play and see what happens," he said.