CARRYING nothing more than a small luggage bag and a packet of 'nasi lemak', student-athletes of Universiti Malaysia Perlis (Unimap) made a 12-hour journey from Arau, Perlis on Friday just to catch the semi-finals of the ATP Malaysian Open at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
It was a dream come true experience for the 50-odd students and coaches, who had never watched world class tennis despite being actively involved in university-level competitions.
Unimap, an engineering-based university located just 35 kilometres from the Thai border, is an excellence centre for tennis under the Higher Education Ministry.
Head coach Amir Ahmad thanked tournament organisers IMG and the ministry for providing them with tickets.
"We chartered a bus when we were informed about it. Everyone in our tennis club was excited when I told them about the tickets," said Amir at Putra Stadium yesterday.
Amir, 30, was a former top junior who represented Perlis in the Malaysia Games and local tournaments.
Besides sponsoring tickets, IMG also treated them with mini-tennis games, like the speed-serve calculator, inside the stadium.
Unimap's No 1 ranked player Mohd Azim Zainal Abidin was excited to watch his idol, Spaniard David Ferrer in the semi-finals.
"I have a lot of stories to tell my friends in Arau. Although, I did not get to meet my idol in person, just watching him here was enough," said Mohd Azim. "
The students left for Arau immediately after the semi-finals as they could not get time-off from classes.
