MALAYSIA’S Hao Sheng Koay and Yus Syazlin Yusri won three titles between them at last month’s ITF Asia 14 & Under Development Championships (Division 2) in Vietnam.
Sheng Koay was unseeded in the boys’ singles but the youngster turned the tables on his more illustrious rivals to win the title.
He defeated Singapore’s top seed Raahli Divyesh Doshi 6-2, 7-5 in an exciting match.
In the doubles final, Sheng Koay partnered Khairil Anas to win the title by edging a Malaysian and Singapore combination of Talhah Rahizam and Raahli 6-4, 7-5.
Yus Syazlin, the top seed, justified her seeding by lifting the girls’ event. She defeated Sri Lanka’s second seed Waduge Nethmie 6-0, 6-4.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Thu Phuong-Nguyen Tiffany Linh overcame Waduge-Issadeen Fathouno 6-0, 6-4 in the doubles final.
The tournament attracted 13 nations, totaling 62 participants.
The championships consisted of two tournaments and the feed-in consolation format was used, resulting in players from participating nations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and hosts Vietnam playing matches every day.
There was also a West Asian team comprising players from Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Jordan.
According to the new format introduced to Division Two for the first time this year, country rankings at the end of the event were based on the best three results in singles and best three results in doubles.
Following the new format ITF Players are also eligible to achieve a country ranking and their points are counted on the same basis.
The points system determines who qualifies to be on the Division Two ITF Team that will participate in the Asia U-14 Development Championships Division One event to be held in March in the Philippines.
ITF Development Officer for Asia, Suresh Menon, was very impressed with the Vietnam Tennis Federation and Ho Chi Minh City Tennis Association for successfully organising the event.
Following the new format this year, Malaysia were promoted to Division 1.
