Sibu May Host M'sia Masters Badminton Tourney Next Year

KUCHING (Sarawak, Malaysia), Oct 6 (Bernama) -- The Sarawak government has expressed its wish to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to host the Malaysia Masters badminton championships next year. State Housing, Youth and Sports Assistant Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said BAM was informed of the state's intention last week and he was confident of receiving the approval of the association. He said the new international standard badminton stadium built for Malaysia Games several months ago in Sibu, would be a fitting venue for world champions to compete. According to him, two other states had also stated their interests to host the championships, but in his view, Sarawak has a better chance of getting selected by BAM. "If all go according to plan, the tournament may be held in January," he told a media conference on the state's National Sports Day celebration here Thursday. Referring to the celebration on Saturday, Abdul Karim said various sporting events were scheduled to be held at Padang Merdeka as early as 6 am to noon where 12,000 participants were expected to take part. -- BERNAMA