Michael Ford, Adam Hazel are arm-wrestling champions
KOTA KINABALU: Michael Ford and Adam Hazel emerged as champions at the Tung Fa Sun ITCC Penampang Arm Wrestling Tournament which concluded near here, recently.
The month-long event was held in a league style format where participants competed weekly for points to determine the champions of each category.
Michael and Adam, won the Pro +75kg and Pro -75kg competitions respectively.
Second in the Pro 75kg and above was Denny Maison followed by Nick Ronny in third and Frankie Petrus in fourth.
Second in the Pro 75kg and below was Rando Lonni followed by Raymond Wong in third and Micky Cheah Kok Fui in fourth.
There was also an amateur category which saw Jonathan Junin emerge as champion followed by Royal Richall Didit in second spot and Javier Fung in third. Francis Sayah was fourth.
The finale on March 3 saw all contestants give their best to win the top four prizes, which included cash and medals.
Tournament organiser, Caesar Mandela Malakun who is the proprietor of the tournament venue (Tung Fa Sun Tea House & Bar) and also chairman of the KDCA Youth Council (coorganiser) was impressed with the reception and talents seen throughout the event.
He thanked all the participants who came from all over Papar, Sepanggar, Tuaran, Kota Kinabalu and Penampang for taking part in the event.
“We are happy to see that INDIAN WELLS (United States): Five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova suffered a shock defeat on Wednesday to Japanese No. 1 Naomi Osaka, losing her opening match at the WTA Indian Wells tournament 6-4, 6-4.
The former world number one, and twice a winner in the California desert, Sharapova was one of the tournament’s major attractions after missing the last two events.
“I wanted to do well here and not just because I won this event a couple times,” Sharapova said.
“I would have loved to stay longer it is just not going to happen this year.”
Sharapova made six double faults, won just 25 percent of her second serve points and had her serve broken five times.
The 20-year-old Osaka won 75 percent of her first-serve points as she needed 95 minutes to win the only night session match. - AFP we have many talents in this strength sport here in Sabah,” said Caesar.
The tournament, which was coordinated by Sabah Arm Wrestling Association (SAWA) drew plenty of attention including from some top level athletes.
On that note, Caesar hoped that SAWA would continue to find more local talents for the sport in future.
“We also have national level athletes and international level athletes here and we hope that the association would continue to find more talents while working with related government and private agencies to promote and to support the identification of potential new athletes in Sabah,” he added.
Also present was SAWA deputy president Jolly Johnson.
The highlight after the event was an exhibition match between Pro 75kg and above winner Michael Ford and the tournament’s official judge Joffey Jolly Johnson, who is also one of Malaysia’s number one champions (based on weight division).
Michael won the bout 3-2 in a best of five showdowns. For the record, Michael tips the scales at well over 100kg while, Joffey is slightly over 70kg.
Meanwhile, Steve Johnny Mositun who is SAWA treasurer-cum-KDCA Youth Council deputy chairman said his (Joffey) track record showed that Sabahans, if properly trained and focussed could be one of the powerhouses for this sport not Only in Malaysia, Southeast Asia but maybe even Asia as he is a multiple international crowned champion.
“The young talents were amazed by his humble character. He was very calm and professional when it comes to competition as a representative athlete. He was an inspiration during the one month event according to most newcomers of the armwrestling sport,” said Steve.
Sharapova crashes out of Indian Wells