Victory shouts echoed through the halls of Stadium Juara as KSKBC A team seized the titled of champion for this year’s Astro Junior Championships tournament.

Defeating Tactical Winpro Badminton Team in the nail-biting finals, KSKBC A team surge forward to a three-point lead and took back the grand cash prize of RM 6,000, trophy and medals.

YBhg Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr. Haji Abdul Aziz Haji Husain, Deputy President, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and YBhg Tan Sri Azlan Zainol, Chairman, Yayasan Astro Kasih presented the champions and runner-up with the prizes.

Also present were V. Muraleedharan, Principal Assistant Director, Malaysia School Sports Council, Ministry of Education (MOE) and Tammy Toh, Director of Communications, Astro.

Making their way into the semi-finals were also Ampang Jaya BC (A) and NSBA. Both teams walked away with RM2,500 prize money as well as trophy and medals.

The Astro Junior Championships is a U-15 mixed-team competition. It aims to provide an additional platform for young shuttlers to compete in national tournaments while exposing them to competitive-play experience.

“Thanks to Astro and the Ministry of Education, this is a good initiative and a welcome addition to the continuing efforts of developing the sport of badminton at the grassroots level,” said Datuk Ng Chin Chai, BAM Development Committee Chairman.

“Astro is pleased to work with BAM and MOE for this Astro Junior Championships. Our role as media and broadcaster is to provide the platform to help identify and discover the next rising badminton star. Over the years, we are happy to be able to inspire 16,000 young badminton players to improve their performance and achieve their dream,” said Tammy Toh.

“We are always grateful for opportunities to play competitively,” said Wee Yee Hern, 15, KSKBC A team member and finalist. “It is through grassroots junior badminton circuits like the Astro Junior Championship that we are able to learn from and compete with our peers which helps me to further strengthen and hone my badminton skills.”

The tournament is an extension of the successful Astro Kem Badminton, a collaboration between Ministry of Education and Badminton Association Malaysia (BAM), which has benefited more than 15,800 participants between the ages 10 – 12 since its inception in 2012.

For more information on the Astro Junior Championship, visit: www.astrokasih.org/championships