Highlights of the ASBC National Federations – Brunei earned its lone Asian Boxing Championships medal in 1973

The Asian Boxing Confederation introduces the best moments of its affiliated Asian National Federations launching a new PR campaign, the Highlights of the ASBC National Federations. Brunei is a small nation on the island of Borneo in the Southeast Asian region which had a few successes in boxing especially in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Brunei has done its debut in the international competitions in 1973 when the Asian Boxing Championships was held in Bangkok, Thailand. Brunei Boxing Association sent seven boxers to the Asian Boxing Championships in 1973 and among them Asmad Rashid claimed bronze medal at the heavyweight (+81kg). His medal is Brunei’s lone one in the history of all Asian Boxing Championships.

Brunei sent boxers to the 1979 edition of the Southeast Asian Games which was held in Jakarta, Indonesia. The small country competed in the region’s most important multisport event with three boxers and among the athletes Timbang Ahmad achieved silver medal at the heavyweight (+81kg) in Jakarta. For years later, in the Singapore 1983 Southeast Asian Games Brunei earned four bronze medals in the boxing event.

Brunei attended one editions of the Commonwealth Games in the long history of the event in the Auckland 1990 event when Mokmin Rahman (63.5kg) and Ismail Ali (75kg) competed in New Zealand. Brunei achieved medals in a few editions of the Arafura Games which has been hosted by Australia’s city Darwin every two year in the past.

Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan hosted the 1999 edition of the Southeast Asian Games which was the biggest ever sport event in the country. Zainur Rizal, Wira Bin Mohamed Yassin, P.G. Duraman and P.G. Jaman earned four bronze medals for Brunei in the boxing event of the 1999 Southeast Asian Games. Their Wira Bin Mohamed Yassin attended three editions of the Southeast Asian Games and he proved the best performances among the boxers from Brunei.

Brunei’s last participation in the Southeast Asian Games was the 2003 Hanoi edition but the country is ready to make its comeback in the upcoming years. Brunei competed in the 2003 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Bangkok, Thailand where Jimmy Anak Ahar (64kg) and Wira Bin Mohamed Yassin (81kg) made their debut in that top level.

The Brunei Boxing Federation returned to the Asian map after 14 years of break in 2017 and hosted its first international event in 2019 which was a great success and achievement of the tiny country. Brunei re-started their national events in the recent three years and its daily work in 2017 and arranged already three competitions in 2019.   

Following the first Interclub Tournament the next national competition was held in Brunei on June 2019 to increase the experience of the boxers. In the second edition of their Interclub Tournament youth boxers could also attend for the medals besides to the elites and all regions of Brunei represented the event.

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