KUALA LUMPUR (10 October 2018): The most anticipated badminton tournament for young players the Purple League Junior 2018 takes off this weekend at the Desa Petaling Sports Complex with nine teams from Division 1 and ten from Division 2 who battle it out in their quest to be crowned champions.

The nine teams competing in Division 1 are Bukit Cheras Badminton Club (BC), Puchong United BC, Petaling Jaya BC, Rawang BC, Kepong BC, Petaling BC, Bandar Maharani BC, Ampang Jaya BC and Cheras BC.

The experience of Liew Darren can prove to be vital for Cheras BC after he was involved in preparing their young players for the upcoming PLJ 2018 which is scheduled to kick off this Saturday.

The ten teams who will be battling to be Division 2 top guns and thus win promotion are Desa Petaling BC, Tebrau City BC, Amanjaya BC, Ayer Itam BC, Georgetown BC, Serdang BC, Kuantan Synergy BC, PGBC, Klang Rising BC and Ipoh BC.

Last season Cheras BC and Bukit Cheras BC emerged champions of Division 1 and Division 2 respectively. The same thrills and spills are expected keep the badminton fans in the thick of the action, albeit from the sidelines, throughout this season.

Cheras BC will be hoping for another dose of magic from an unlikely hero to spur them to retain the title this season. Cheras BC, who won their maiden title last season, will once again be banking on the experience and court-craft of former national star Liew Daren to pull them through. Liew Daren, presently an independent, has been sparring with the club’s junior players.

Future talent, Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin, is regarded as one of the key players for Cheras BC for the upcoming PLJ 2018.

Liew Daren, 31, who quit the Badminton Association Malaysia’s (BAM) two years ago, had previously been turning out for Puchong United in the Purple League but has since decided to use his experience to help Cheras BC’s quest to secure back-to-back titles.

The Kuala Lumpur-born Liew Daren rolled back the years when he managed to secure a bronze medal at the recent World Championships in Nanjing, China, upstaging many of the world’s top players in the process.

Cheras BC are hoping that his performance in Nanjing will rub off on their own juniors, one of which is the up-and-coming Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin.

The 18-year-old Aidi,l who is from Selangor, has been making waves on the local scene as the first ever player from a professional club to represent Malaysia at the Jakarta World Junior Championships last year where he was eliminated in the third round.

Aidil has been grabbing the limelight again this year. He clinched a silver medal in the recently concluded Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Perak in the men’s singles and earned himself a national call-up for the upcoming World Junior Championship in Markham, Canada in November.

“We hope Liew Daren’s presence will spur our juniors especially Aidil who wants to emulate him as an independent player on the world stage. He (Aidil) has been with our team for four years and has been showing continuous improvement in his game,” said manager of Cheras BC Raezal Mohamed
Hussein.

“Apart from Aidil, we have Pearly Tan from Kedah, also a silver medallist in Sukma and currently the national under-18 women’s doubles champion. We have also strengthened our squad by signing foreign players like Indonesian trio Sekar Maji Bening Nur Kholifah, Andre Timotius Tololiu and Rizqulloh Dwi Prasetyo.”

Cheras BC, who are currently being coached by former national hero Rashid Sidek, are looking to secure back-to-back Division 1 titles in the upcoming Purple League Junior 2018. Only Petaling BC have managed to win the title twice (2015,2016) since its inception in 2015.

Treat yourself to some high-octane badminton action by watching the numerous up-and-coming stars in the Purple League Junior 2018 at the Desa Petaling Sports Complex (13th-14th October), Sports Arena Puchong (27th-28th October) and the Challenger Sports Centre Ampang (3th-4th November).

Purple League Junior 2018 Fixtures:
Venue: Desa Petaling Sports Complex

13 October 2018 (Saturday)
Division One (12.00PM)
Petaling BC vs Rawang BC
Bandar Maharani BC vs Kepong BC
Petaling Jaya BC vs Bukit Cheras BC
Puchong United BC vs Ampang Jaya BC

Division Two (9.00AM)
Serdang BC vs Tebrau City BC
Desa Petaling BC vs Kuantan Synergy BC
Ayer Itam BC vs Amanjaya BC
Klang Rising BC vs Ipoh BC
PGBC vs Georgetown BC

(3.00PM)
PGBC vs Klang Rising BC
Serdang BC vs Kuantan Synergy BC
Desa Petaling BC vs Amanjaya BC
Ayer Itam BC vs Ipoh BC
Tebrau City BC vs Georgetown BC

14 October 2018 (Sunday)
Division One (9.00AM)
Cheras BC vs Puchong United BC
Petaling BC vs Kepong BC
Bandar Maharani BC vs Bukit Cheras BC
Petaling Jaya BC vs Ampang Jaya BC

(3.00PM)
Cheras BC vs Petaling Jaya BC
Rawang BC vs Kepong BC
Petaling BC vs Bukit Cheras BC
Bandar Maharani BC vs Ampang Jaya BC

Division Two (12.00PM)
PGBC vs Ayer Itam BC
Tebrau City BC vs Kuantan Synergy BC
Serdang BC vs Amanjaya BC
Desa Petaling BC vs Ipoh BC
Klang Rising BC vs Georgetown BC

About Malaysia Purple League
Founded in 2013, Malaysia Purple League is a competition platform in support of the Malaysian badminton effort by helping to develop and polish the skills of Malaysian badminton players to raise the level of competitive badminton in Malaysia. The league is an initiative that provides players of all levels, both professionals and amateurs, with an opportunity to gain invaluable competition experience, and concurrently strives to engage retired national greats to guide and inspire a new generation of champions. For more information, visit Malaysia Purple League website at http://www.purpleleague.com/