Talent scouts head for junior tournament
Talent scouts head for junior tournament
JAKARTA (JP): The Thamrin Cup Junior Tennis Championships this year will reinstate the 18-year-old age group to scout talent for important tournaments, an organizer said.
"The age of 18 is the right time to develop junior players. The more competitions are held, the more juniors will have chances to develop their skills," said Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar of the Jakarta tennis association, the organizer of the annual tournament.
The championships, to be staged at the Kemayoran Tennis Center from June 8 to June 16, will be divided into five age groups: 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. The last division was last contested in 1992.
The winners of each age group -- in both singles and doubles, and boys and girls -- will qualify for the Sosro Cup international tournament, scheduled right after the Thamrin Cup. More than 100 players from 12 countries, mostly in Southeast Asia, have confirmed their participation in the Sosro Cup.
About 100 tennis players from Jakarta, Aceh, West Java and Central Java, have registered for the Thamrin Cup.
"We expect about 1,000 juniors to take part in the championships, which will be staged during the school holidays," tournament director August Raturandang said.
Siregar said Indonesia's home defeats in the Davis Cup and Fed Cup hurt national tennis.
The Davis Cup team lost to South Korea in February and to China in March. The Fed Cup team was whipped by Belgium in April.
Siregar said Indonesian tennis players are excellent as juniors but seem to lose their skill when they become seniors.
Siregar supported the Indonesian Tennis Association's idea of holding a selection tournament to pick players to don the national colors in international tournaments.
Rebel player Benny Wijaya, a former top player, said the selection is a fair way to form the national team. He said, however, that he would miss it due to club commitments.
Benny has extended his two-year contract with a Taiwanese club for one more season.
"I'm sorry, but I have to return to Taiwan tomorrow," he said.
However, former Davis Cupper Benny expressed his hope that someday he can rejoin the national team for international events. Benny will play for Jakarta in the National Games here this September. (yan)