KUALA LUMPUR – National tennis coach Zulkhairi Mohd Khir believes that teenager Mitsuki Leong is capable of winning a medal at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games based on his impressive performance in several tournaments.
The coach said the 19-year-old, who is competing in the March 27-April 2 International Tennis Federation (ITF) Mysuru Open in India, is on the right track to collect ITF points to ensure a favourable passage at the May 5-17 biennial Games in Phnom Penh.
“I feel that Mitsuki’s game is at a very good level now. When we were in Lucknow, India, he made it to the third round and he also reached the quarter-finals in Jakarta in January.
“So, Mitsuki can help the men’s team bag a bronze, and, judging by his performance, if he can reach the men’s singles semi-finals or final, Insya-Allah, he can bring home a medal too,” he said.
He said this after 2023 SEA Games deputy chef de mission Datuk Shalin Zulkifli visited the national tennis team training camp at the Jalan Duta Tennis Complex in Bukit Tunku today.
Earlier, Tennis Malaysia named the five men and three women who will carry Malaysia’s challenge at the Cambodia SEA Games.
They are Mitsuki, Koay Hao Sheng, Imran Daniel Abd Hazli, S. Darrshan and Christian Andre (men); as well as Saw Jo Leen, Shihomi Leong and Lim Sze Xuan (women).
Imran, who will be making his second appearance in the SEA Games after the previous Hanoi edition in Vietnam, has been putting in the hard yards in the hope of doing better this time.
“I feel that my performance is good…just that I didn’t get the opportunity to compete overseas to test myself. But that hasn’t stopped me from using the time available to train and become better,” he said.
At the Hanoi SEA Games, the national tennis squad returned home with two bronze medals through the men’s and women’s teams. – Bernama, March 28, 2023
