Two teen-age national tennis players have been accepted to compete against other young Asian players in matches to be held in Brunei next week, officials said Wednesday.
Pal Vanna and Thun Tola, both 16 years old, will be competing in the under 18 years old category at the Junior World Ranking Circuit games, said Tep Rithivit, secretary general of the Tennis Federation of Cambodia. They will leave on Saturday and return in a week.
The trip will cost at least $2,000. Mildseven and Power Investment Group are sponsoring the teens for the competition and have provided funds to pay for training and equipment.
The two teenagers, who have been playing tennis since they were 10, have had a difficult time improving their game because they have to train under poor conditions, said Yi Sarin, one of their local trainers.
“They never complete their training on time,” Yi Sarin said. “When they have a sponsor, they start training. When they don’t have one, they stop.”
Pal Vanna and Thun Tola have been training with local trainers, but since 1996, they also have been learning from Japanese trainers.
Yi Sarin said the Tennis Federation is very poor so players are able to train only when the federation has money.
“We need more sponsors from wherever possible, including the government, business sector, or the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport,” he said.
