Nine young winners in the Malaysian National Games

The Malaysian National Games was held in Kuching in the Sarawak region of the country where boxing is among the official sports. Nine new champions have been crowned in the Malaysian National Games where the boxers who were between 17 and 22 were eligible to compete in the event.
The Malaysian Boxing Federation’s main event this year their National Games is holding in the upcoming days in Sarawak which was their first selection event for the Southeast Asian Games which is scheduled in 2017.
The coordination visit of the National Games was done by Mr. Wan Abdul Hamid Wan Mahmood who is member of the Executive Committee of the Asian Boxing Confederation. The Malaysian National Games saw more than 100 boxers which competition is the most important in the country in 2016. The Malaysian National Games is holding for the country’s best men boxers in nine different weight classes from the Light Flyweight (49 kg) up to the Heavyweight category (91 kg).
Johor’s Muhamad Shariff Bin Fauzi won the gold medal at the Penang Pesta Tournament and the 20-year-old Light Flyweight class (49 kg) boxer continued his winning series in the National Games. He defeated Nik Hafizi Syahid Bin Nik Zulkiflee of Perak in the opening round and won all of his further three contests in the event. His final opponent was 18-year-old Mohamed Arif Bin Razuhat who was competitive rival for him therefore Muhamad Shariff had to do his very best in the gold medal bout.
Mohamed Azmi Bin Azhar won the Malaysian Youth National Championships this year and competed at the ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan two months ago. Azmi was the secret favourite of the Light Flyweight class (49 kg) but he was defeated by Penang Pesta Tournament silver medallist 18-year-old Tuan Mohamed Faizal Bin Tuan Zulkifli who trains in Terengganu and finally claimed bronze in the Malaysian National Games.
Terengganu’s Abdul Salam Kasim competed well enough in the recent Malaysian national events but he was not the favourite in the final of the Flyweight class (52 kg) against National Golden Gloves silver medallist Muhamad Azuwan Bin Mohamed Nor who is member of the national team. The final verdict was unanimous decision to 20-year-old Abdul Salam Kasim who reached his career’s best with his gold medal in the MBKS Stadium in Kuching. The young boxer is now near to compete in the upcoming 2017 Southeast Asian Games.
Southeast Asian Games competitor Arfiqanie Bin Ahmad Anshori of Negeri Sembilan joined to the Malaysian national team last year and began his road to the final glory of the Bantamweight class (56 kg) in the Games against 18-year-old Muhammad Amir Ikhwan Bin Mohamed Roslan in Kuching which was a one-sided bout. He defeated another teenager Mohamed Saiful Idham Bin Azuan in the semi-final of the Games and continued his wining path against Sarawak’s No.1 National Golden Gloves silver medallist As Sufi Bin Azli in the final who has got seven years of experiences in the sport.
Kelantan’s Muhammad Hafiz Bin Deris had to win four contests in the Malaysian National Games to get the gold medal in Kuching. His most difficult opponent was Pahang’s 18-year-old Bah Angin Hasnizam in the semi-final but after his split decision’s victory he proved better performance for the gold of the Lightweight class (60 kg) against Pulau Pinang’s Ahmad Hafiezuddin Bin Roslan.
Theena Thayalan Raja Selvan was born only in 1997 and became the youngest winner in the Malaysian National Games. The Light Welterweight class (64 kg) boxer was too strong in the final against Kelantan’s 20-year-old Muhammad Amir Bin Mohamed Nadzri and claimed his first title in his career.
Sabah’s best boxer 21-year-old Mohammad Hudzaifah Bin Reitz had to do his very best to beat the favourite in the final of the Welterweight class (69 kg) Sarawak’s favourite Muhammad Firdaus Bin Kamarulzaman. Sabah’s second gold medal was delivered by National Golden Gloves bronze medallist Samuel Johnson Michael at the Middleweight class (75 kg) following his triumph over Terengganu’s Tengku Nazri Bin Tengku Yeng.
Negeri Sembilan’s Hashmil Bin Hashrin had two contests in the Light Heavyweight class (81 kg) but he knocked down both of his opponents such as Terengganu’s Ayman Syafiq Zahari and Sarawak’s Ting Chek Tee. The last gold medal of the Malaysian National Games was achieved by Pahang’s Mohammad Nur Halim Bin Mohamed Ali who outpointed Negeri Sembilan’s 19-year-old Ranjit Singh Maan Ravinder in the final of the Heavyweight class (91 kg) in Kuching.

Winners in the Malaysian National Games
49 kg: Muhamad Shariff Bin Fauzi, 1996
52 kg: Abdul Salam Kasim, 1996
56 kg: Arfiqanie Bin Ahmad Anshori, 1996
60 kg: Muhammad Hafiz Bin Deris, 1996
64 kg: Theena Thayalan Raja Selvan, 1997
69 kg: Mohammad Hudzaifah Bin Reitz, 1996
75 kg: Samuel Johnson Michael, 1995
81 kg: Hashmil Bin Hashrin, 1995
91 kg: Mohammad Nur Halim Bin Mohamed Ali, 1996