MASUM...UPSI JOHAN..

New kids in town

Submitted by Najiah on Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

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Upstarts upstage the competition

Kamaruzaman Ahmad

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011 07:32:00

GOLDEN SMILES: UPSI captain Amir Asayuti (bending over, third from right) and the team celebrating their unexpected success

SERI KEMBANGAN: Young guns Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI) are the new Malaysian University Sports Council (Masum) softball champions. Formed last January, the UPSI softball team, aka Teachers' Club, bundled out favourites and defending champions Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in the men's category.
UPSI captain Amir Asayuti Hamin, who set up the team, said the success was unexpected.
"Our team comprises of rookies. Except for me and two others — Abdul Hafiz Khaidir and Hafiz Abdullah — the others have little experience," said Amir.
"Last year, I played for Masum while Abdul Hafiz and Hafiz represented Kedah and Perak respectively at Sukma recently.
"In our debut last year, we reached the Masum sports carnival quarterfinals. This year we emerged champions.
"We hope to continue with our winning streak in the UPSI Softball Open Championships in November, which is open to clubs and State teams."
UPSI defeated UiTM 9-2 in the semifinal and edged UPM 4-3 in the final. For their efforts, the university rewarded the team with RM1,000.
Deputy Chancellor Prof Dr Aminah Ayub topped up another RM500 to show her appreciation.
Overall, UPSI emerged fourth out of 20 public universities, emerging champions in silat, chess and softball.
Amir said the team's success contributed significantly to UPSI's key performance index in co-curriculum activities.