UNSUNG HEROES OF SMKTD

In the recent MSSMKL Bangsar Zone and Inter-Zone Volleyball Tournament, the SMKTD’s volleyball teams (the Under 18 boys and girls and the Under 15 boys and girls) have again brought honours to the school.

The 1991 SMKTD's Volleyball Team

SMKTD has always been a school with a proud volleyball tradition.

Although the Champions medals have eluded SMKTD at the recent tournaments, overall, the teams have managed to be consistently competitive as shown in the results they have attained over the last few years. SMKTD has managed to win the respect and admiration of its opponents with its performances .

The Under 18 girls' team: MSSMKL Bangsar Zone- Runner-Up

The Under-18 girls' team ended up the bridesmaid again losing only to SM Kuen Cheng in the final for the third consecutive year.

Despite the defeat, the girls still could hold their heads high knowing that they had only been beaten by a better team : a team under a full-time Chinese Coach who has equipped the players with better skills and strategies.

Five of the players in the Under-18 team led by Captain Leong Pui Kar have been donning the SMKTD's jersey since they were in Form one! (With their absence next year can the team continue to be competitive? )

The Under 15 girls' team :MSSMKL Bangsar Zone - 3rd Place

The Under 15 girls’ team managed to snatch a 3rd place after defeating Methodist Girls’ School. It was truly a remarkable feat as there were only four players were from last year's team and the rest were newcomers.

The Under 18 boys' team - MSSMKL Bangsar Zone -Runner-Up

The Under 15 boys' team MSSMKL Bangsar Zone -Runner-Up

Here is a report by Ms Liew, the teacher advisor for the Under 15 boys' team

18th April, 2007 – Final Day of Competition of the MSSMKL Bangsar Zone Volleyball Tournament for Boys, SMK Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur

After three weeks of competition our volleyball boys’ teams made it to the finals. The Under 18 team would be meeting their arch enemies RMC and the Under 15 Team would be facing an unexpected finalist, SMK Sri Sentosa. Although our school teams made it to the finals both suffered defeat in the finals of the MSSMKL Bangsar Zone Volleyball Competition.

The Under 18 team led by captain Lim Jia Wei had to be content with second place again this year.

The Under 15 team this year could not defend their title of being champs of Bangsar Zone

As both teams were placed second, we still had the opportunity to represent Bangsar Zone for the Inter-Zone Competition held in SMK Chong Hwa, Gombak.

24th April, 2007 – First Day of the MSSMKL Inter-Zone Competition

On the first day of competition, the Under 18 team lost their first match to SMK Chong Hwa but they did not give up and gave their all to win their second match against SMK Confucian. The match was a sight to behold. The boys played with their hearts on their sleeves and they succeeded in outplaying a higher ranked team. Team spirit was on high as they could now very well get a place in the semi-finals. All it would take was one more victory.
On the other hand, the Under 15 team had a bad start to the tournament as they lost both their matches on the first day. It seemed as if there wasn’t a glimmer of hope left for the younger boys.

25th April 2007 – 2nd Day of Competition

Today, the teams were scheduled to play later in the day. The Under 15 team was up first. Their opponents were the champions of Pudu Zone, SMK Dato Lokman.
The boys mustered every strength they had and managed one of the bigger upsets in the tournament. Through an incredible stroke of luck, we secured the second place in Group D, which meant that we were in the semi-finals! In the history of our school never had any team qualified for the semi-finals of the Inter-Zone Volleyball Competition before. This of course boosted the morale of the Under 18 boys who were playing later. They played the very last match of the day and it was an intense affair. We were up against SMK Wangsa Maju R1 and they too wanted a place in the semi-finals. Both teams fought valiantly but our boys outclassed their opponents. The match ended at around half past seven in the evening, but it was well worth the wait. Both our teams were now in the semi-finals!

27th April 2007 – Semi-final matches

The boys went to SMK Chong Hwa bright and early to try to get a place in the finals. The Under 18 team would be facing SMK Tsun Jin and the Under 15 team would be going against SMK D.D. Hussein Onn. Both opposing teams were champs of their own respective zones. Unfortunately, lady luck deserted our teams at this point. Both teams lost in the semi-finals, and both matches could have gone our way. The boys had to to face bitter defeat. So, now with heavy hearts the boys had to be content with getting a bronze for their valiant efforts.

30th April 2007 – Final Day of Competition

The final matches were played and in the end, the host school won both the Under 15 and Under 18 Boys titles. Our boys got their bronze medals and their certificates of participation. Even though they did not get into the finals, they should be proud that they held their own among so many schools in Kuala Lumpur and that they created a little piece of history of their own. It has been years since our school got into the semi-finals of any Inter-Zone Competition and for that, the school wishes to thank our unsung heroes for their courage, strength and commitment.

Thank you boys, you made us proud!

Special Mention
The school would also like to thank Lee Cheng Mun of SMK Desa Perdana who played for our Under 15 Team as an import player. He gave his all for each and every match. We hope that he will do well in all aspects and wish him the all the best in his future endeavours.

Extra Good News
Two of our Under 18 team have made the first selection for the Inter-State Volleyball Competion which will be held in Sarawak this year. They will attend central training in Titiwangsa and from there perhaps go through the selection phase and be chosen as state players. The two boys are Lim Jia Wei from 5K1 and Choo June Wai from 4K2.

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