MALAYSIA will not be represented in tennis at the Indonesia Sea Games on Nov 11-22.
But the decision, made by the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM), is seen as too drastic as it has spent a lot of money sending players for international training stints and tournaments.
The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) handpicked Si Yew Ming and Jawairiah Noordin as the country's representatives under Category 'A' (expenses covered by the council) but LTAM did not see this as fair as it wanted to conduct a proper selection trial.
Yew Ming and Jawairiah are the top men's and women's players in the country.
LTAM president Tan Sri Abdul Razak Latiff said the association's selection committee had wanted to conduct a trial to pick players for the Sea Games.
According to the LTAM website, the trial was supposed to be held on Oct 31- Nov 4.
"We have a selection committee to oversee the selection of players. Their interest is to make sure trials are conducted professionally and fair," said Abdul Razak yesterday.
"Furthermore, the Sea Games is a non-ranking tournament. It is an event where a player plays to win medals.
"I believe if we are to cough up funds, we rather send our players to WTA and ATP tournaments where they can get exposure and also earn ranking points."
At the 2009 Laos Sea Games, the national women's squad, then led by Jawairiah, earned a bronze in the team event but failed to make an impression in individual events.
LTAM had submitted its players' list for the Sea Games to OCM on July 27 but later decided on withdrawing from the biennial event.
According to OCM, the association cited that its players were not competitive enough to win medals as the standard of the Sea Games was high. - NST
