KUCHING: More than 300 young shuttlers from across Sarawak are competing in the Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) Junior Badminton Tournament 2025 – Selection and Ranking, a new grassroots platform designed to ensure transparency in player selection for State representation.
The three-day tournament, held at SBA Hall from September 5 to 7, has drawn a total of 335 entries in the under-12 and under-16 categories, making it one of the largest junior badminton events in the state.
SBA’s Honorary Secretary, Datuk Dr Wan Khalik Wan Muhammad, said the competition serves a dual purpose: to provide official rankings for junior players and identify Sarawak’s representatives for the 100Plus National U12 and U16 Team Championship, scheduled from October 29 to November 2, 2025, in Kuala Lumpur.
“This is our first time organising a ranking and selection tournament.
“We want to ensure that the process of selecting players is transparent and merit-based,” he told Sarawak Tribune in an interview today.
While SBA initially considered staging zonal tournaments in Kuching, Sibu and Miri, cost and time constraints led to the decision to centralise the event in Kuching, with invitations extended statewide.
“Because we wanted it to be open, all clubs and divisions were invited to send their best players.
“The response has been overwhelming, and we are fortunate to have enough courts to accommodate such a large entry,” he added.
About 60 to 70 per cent of participants hail from Kuching, with others travelling from divisions such as Sibu and Miri.
Wan Khalik explained that beyond selecting players for the national junior circuit, the new tournament will also act as a foundation for SBA’s long-term development plans.
“This is a starting point for us to create a proper ranking system for Sarawak players, and from there we can identify potential talents for higher-level programmes, including the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s Talent Identification and Development initiative,” he said.
