06 Jan AEON CREDIT PURPLE LEAGUE JUNIOR TO RETURN BIGGER AND BETTER WITH MORE TEAMS TAKING PART THIS YEAR

Aspiring young shuttlers from the country will be strutting their stuff once again in the AEON Credit Purple League Junior 2021/2022 (ACPLJ) badminton championship, which gets underway in Malacca this weekend.

Some of the finest young talents will pit their strength in search of glory with their respective clubs over the course of three weeks beginning with the qualifying stages.

Seremban City BC’s Coach, Zakry Abdul Latif was delighted with his team for overcoming their disappointing results on the first day.

Malaysia Purple League (MPL)’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ho Khek Mong is looking forward to see the young aspiring talents showcase their skills in this tournament. He said, “most of the players who are taking part in the ACPLJ are still in secondary school and this will be a great opportunity for them to get a taste of playing in a highly competitive badminton tournament.”

Khek Mong also encouraged all the participating clubs to take advantage of this platform to produce young    talents together with the Malaysia Purple League (MPL) and for the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).

Being one of the top 38 teams that will be competing in this year’s edition, Seremban City BC’s team manager Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif said his team are all fired-up to clinch the 2021/2022 ACPLJ title. “Our team has been training vigorously for the past two months for this tournament. And with the support of our experienced state players, we are determined to bring home this prestigious ACPLJ title.”

Newcomers Malacca City BC have also sounded an early warning of their aspirations to go far in this tournament.  An upbeat team manager Shahidi Bin Shahidan said his charges are not here to make up the numbers. “We are capable of pulling a surprise in this tournament. I believe with the strength of our homegrown talents; we can progress to the grand-finals.”

The club from the historic city will face WCBF Sibu and Petaling Jaya BC in Group A for the Under-15 category. For the Under-18, they will fancy their chances against Sentosa United BC and DSBC Labuan.

Seremban City BC will face Perling BC and Mentakab BC in Group C for the Under-15 category. For the Under-18, they will spar with JBBC and Damansara BC.

The ACPLJ will be played over 3 group stages and a grand finale from January to February. A total of 38  teams will be divided into groups and will play on a round-robin format during the qualifying stages.

The top 4 teams from each leg will then proceed to play in the grand finale.

The first leg will kickstart in Malacca from Jan 8-9 at the Smazh Premium Outlet. The second leg will be held at the Sixbase Sport Arena, Kampar from Jan 15-16, the third leg is scheduled at the Tops Arena Empire in Cheras from Jan 22-23 before the Grand Finale from Feb 19-20. The venue for the final stage has yet to be confirmed.