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Tennis/Junior Championships: LTAM gets boost from ECM Libra
By : K.M. Boopathy
(From left) New Straits Times Press Bhd (NSTP) chief executive officer Datuk Syed Faisal Albar, ECM Libra Financial Group executive chairman and CEO Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan, LTAM president Datuk Abdul Razak Latiff and ntv7 CEO Datuk Anthony Firdauz Bujang share a light moment during the Kuala Lumpur ECM Libra LTAM Junior Tennis Championships sponsorship press conference at Balai Berita in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Pic: KHALID REDZA

THE LTA of Malaysia, in its bid to further develop tennis at grassroots level, will be staging the ECM Libra-LTAM Junior Tennis Championships at the Tun Razak Tennis Complex in Jalan Duta on Dec 13-20.

LTAM received a major boost from title sponsors ECM Libra Foundation, incorporated by ECM Libra Financial Group as a charitable organisation whose primary objective is to provide financial aid for educational purposes to the underprivileged and poor Malaysians, who will provide RM250,000 annually for four years to organise the tournament.

The inter-team tournaments, which caters to under-13 and under-16 boys and girls, has been made more attractive with total prize money of RM100,000 for the top eight finishers with the champions getting RM5,000.

The other sponsors are Media Prima Berhad, AirAsia, NSTP and Dunlop.

Teams from 14 states will be involved and to make it more challenging, LTAM will invite teams from two countries, most likely from the South East Asian region, for the inaugural tournament.
ECM Libra group executive chairman and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan said ECM Libra Foundation has taken the initiative to help boost the growth of tennis in the country.

"Tennis used to be one of the top sports in the 70s but the standard has declined. ECM Libra Foundation's objective is to boost the growth of tennis again," said Kalimullah, who is also one of the foundation's trustees, during a press conference at Balai Berita in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

"The interest among juniors has also been growing due to the popularity of events such as Wimbledon and the US Open and we would like to announce the junior tournament offering the largest prize money.

"If there is improvement, we will definitely consider continuing our support for the tournament beyond four years."

LTAM president, Datuk Abdul Razak Latiff said the tournament will be a massive confidence boost for the local junior scene which doesn't get the support it needs to move to another level.

Abdul Razak also said that due to the attractive prize money, the tournament will likely attract the top junior players in the country.

"Tennis will not be part of the Malaysia Games in Malacca (in 2010) but the inauguration of new tournaments such as this will further boost our growth," said Abdul Razak.

"All states should be sending their best players and the attractive prize money will ensure this. The involvement of two foreign teams will also give our players a tougher challenge."

A celebrity tennis event, involving CEO's and managing directors and celebrities, will be held at the same venue on Dec 14.


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