002 Academy's Bronze at Tom Khoo Georgetown Came After a Real Setback
Andrew Lee002 Pickleball Club & Academy's Team Sapphire clinched bronze at the Tom Khoo Georgetown Pickleball Championship, after a real setback: the team led 13-7 in the semifinal Dreambreaker before a disruption cost them the match.
Rather than folding after the semifinal loss, Team Sapphire regrouped to win the third-place playoff. The roster: Kai Fen Yi (Taiwan), Jasmine Almaguer (American Samoa), Neem Shamsuddin (Malaysia), Nick Wiseman (USA), Dustin Wang (Taiwan), and Dickson Ng (Malaysia), a genuinely international lineup for a Malaysian academy team.
One of Three Teams, and a Real Track Record
Sapphire wasn't the academy's only entry at Georgetown, 002 fielded two more full teams, Ruby and Emerald, at the same championship. By the academy's own count, it has now competed in 15 major team tournaments, reaching the semifinals 14 times, the final 12 times, with 7 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze finishes, a track record this bronze extends rather than starts.
The academy also separately announced it had received an official letter of appreciation naming it a coaching provider to the PKNPk Pickleball Team, a distinct piece of institutional recognition alongside this competitive result.
002 thanked its sponsors and supporters: Kuda L'Eau, Sunway Hotel Georgetown Penang, Sushi Ya, @young_sports_official, @gop.pg, @achotel.ipoh, Base - Pickleball & Padel Club, and MyPickleball.
This article is based on social media posts and historical data tracked by Pickle361.
