The Sarawak Open Boxing Championships delivered outstanding finals in Malaysia
The new edition of the Sarawak Open Boxing Championships was held in the Sri Aman Sarawak Indoor Stadium where the crowd could follow exciting final bouts.
The purpose of the competition was to promote Sarawak’s tourism and boxing, additionally to prepare for the next events including the Sukma 2026.
The organizers of the new competition were the Sarawak State Boxing Association (SABA), the Ministry of Youth & Sports & Entrepreneur Development Sarawak (MYSED) and the Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS).
Sri Aman is located in East Malaysia, off the river of Lupar, 193km far from the city of Kuching which is the capital of Sarawak State. Sri Aman is famous of its agricultural products such as pepper, oil palm, timber, spices and rubber.
The local organizer is Mr. Dato Rahman Lariwoo, the President of the Sarawak Regional Boxing Association who worked hard in the recent years to increase the popularity of boxing in the state with this new Sarawak Open.
The women’s boxing has competitions now in Malaysia and the Sarawak Open also give opportunities for the female talents. Indonesia’s Adinda Sintia defeated Singapore’s Nikhita Sathikannan at the women’s light welterweight (63kg) final while Malaysia’s Sarawak-based Muslihah Binti Abdullah earned bronze medal.
The minimumweight (48kg) has great traditions in Malaysia and the winner of the elite part of the competition was Muhammad Mukriz Khan who triumphed over Muhammad Amirul Bin Nayan in the final.
Malaysia’s Aelfred Eter Tohiron was not the main favourite for the title of the elite flyweight (51kg) but he succeeded over Singapore’s Andrey Corrales and Mohamad Faizul Bin Ismail to achieve a new highlight during his career.
Welem Rafael Batuwael trains in the Kelab Boxing Club in Indonesia and he was the biggest name at the men’s elite bantamweight (54kg) in the Sarawak Open. He dominated the final against an Army boxer, Mohamed Azan Alip to take the well-deserved gold medal of this strong weight class.
Batuwael’s teammate in the Kelab Boxing Club in Indonesia, Yaser Arafad earned the next title in the Sarawak Open where he defeated Abdul Malek Bin Ahmad Shukri at the elite featherweight (57kg) final.
Muhammad Saiful Shahrin Bin Awang bagged the title of the elite light welterweight (63.5kg) while Kally Justin Maul was too strong for his opponents at the welterweight (67kg).
Sarawak’s local ace, Muhammad Irfan Tom Bin Frankie earned the title of the men’s U22 flyweight (51kg) after beating Singapore’s Sufi Irfan Bin Mohamed Idris in the final. Khairul Hazami Bin Sulam (60kg) and Lam Wee Liang (63.5kg) were further strong winners in the Sukma Age group, among the U22 boxers.
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