Kuching Tops Podium as Sarawak’s Youngest Pickleball Talent Gets Its First Proper Stage
Sibu played host to something Sarawak had never quite seen before: an inter-division pickleball championship built entirely around players under 18. When the dust settled on Sunday, it was Kuching who claimed the inaugural crown, with Miri finishing a close second and Sibu’s two entries taking third and fourth.
Six teams, drawn from five divisions—Sibu, Kuching, Miri, Bintulu and Sarikei—made up the field, with Sibu doubling up and fielding a second side alongside the host division. For a sport still finding its footing among Sarawak’s youth, that’s a respectable turnout for a first go at it.
Bintulu will get the honour of hosting next year’s edition, a decision confirmed at the closing ceremony by Sibu Pickleball Association president and Bukit Assek assemblyman Joseph Chieng. He didn’t hold back on the significance of the occasion either, calling it a historic and meaningful milestone for junior pickleball in the state, and thanking every team and player for helping make it one.
More Than Just a Weekend Tournament
There’s a bigger plan behind all of this, and Chieng was fairly upfront about it. The tournament isn’t meant to be a one-off—it’s designed to help organisers spot promising young players early, giving them the competitive exposure needed to eventually represent Sarawak at the Malaysian Schools Sports Council and, further down the line, at the Malaysia Games, or Sukma.
Chieng also used the platform to push for something bigger still: he’s hoping the Malaysia Pickleball Association and the Ministry of Education can work together to get pickleball recognised as an official MSSM sport. The timing helps his case. Pickleball has already been named a demonstration sport at Sukma 2026 in Selangor, and Chieng is now eyeing full medal-sport status by Sukma 2028—a shift that would hand young players a genuine pathway rather than a novelty appearance on the programme.
He tied all of it back to Sarawak’s own development priorities, pointing to the state’s focus on youth development and human capital under the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030. As he put it, investing in young people through sport doesn’t just build athletes—it builds “healthier, more confident” future leaders for the state.
Sibu District Education officer Lau Ngie Tung was also on hand for the closing ceremony, alongside Chieng, as medals were handed out to close what organisers are already treating as the first chapter of something bigger.
For now, Kuching gets to call itself Sarawak’s first-ever under-18 pickleball champion. Whether that title still means much once Bintulu’s crowd gets involved next year is exactly the kind of question this tournament was built to keep asking.
