NEARLY 300 players gathered in Puchong, Selangor, for a five-day woodball tournament that attracted local and international teams.
Held at Laman Woodball Wawasan in Taman Rekreasi Wawasan, the event combined two competitions: the 20th National Woodball Champion-ship Circuit 1 and Thomas Woodball Cup Open 2026.
Participants came from Johor, Kedah, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Selangor, Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur.
It also featured players from Singapore and Hong Kong under the Thomas Cup open category.
Jointly organised by Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ), Selangor Woodball Association (SWA), Malaysia Woodball Association (MWA) and Kelab Woodball Wawasan, it featured men’s and women’s Open, Veteran, Under-19 and Under-15 categories, with players competing in individual, doubles, team and mixed doubles formats.
Present at the opening ceremony was Selangor Sports Council board management deputy chairman II Abbas Salimi Che Azmi, who is also Seri Serdang assemblyman.
Among the young players who stood out was 15-year-old Nur Atriffa Shiffa Azizan from Perlis who emerged champion in the Under-15 category.
Atriffa Shiffa said she has been playing woodball for three years and prepared for the tournament by training once every two weeks over two months.
“My training focused more on technical accuracy, but physical fitness is also important. This game requires strong mental endurance too,” she said.
Atriffa Shiffa said her family was her biggest source of motivation as they were accomplished woodball players.
Her father Azizan Zainol and mother Salbiah Hashim are national players who won bronze medals at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand in the men’s and women’s team stroke events respectively.
Her brother Muhammad Azim Shaqil has represented Malaysia at the World Cup and Asian Cup, while sister Nur Atrisha Shiffa made her SEA Games debut in 2025, also winning bronze in the women’s team stroke event.
“My family inspires me because they have all represented Malaysia,” said Atriffa Shiffa.
She said her team placed second in the girls’ junior team category and fourth in the mixed doubles event.
Her advice to new players is to train consistently, build mental and physical endurance, and take part in smaller tournaments to gain experience.
Also present at the event were SWA president Dr Lai Wei Seng and MWA representative Elaine Tan Mee Hoi.
During the event, SWA received a RM25,000 sports matching grant from Youth and Sports Ministry.
Dr Lai said the grant would help cover part of the tournament’s operating cost, which was estimated at about RM100,000.
“The grant is meant for organising national-level competitions.
“It will cover tournament needs such as volunteer apparel, technical requirements, logistics and refreshments.”
He said hosting a tournament of this scale required substantial funding, especially with almost 300 participants involved.
SWA, which was only in its third year, would continue focusing on youth development to strengthen Selangor’s woodball talent pool, he added.
States such as Penang, Pahang and Perlis have a longer history of developing junior players, Dr Lai noted, saying that most national woodball players were currently from Perlis, Pahang and Terengganu.
“SWA is still new, so our focus now is on youth development.
“We hope to build Selangor players who can compete in future Malaysia Games and eventually represent Malaysia,” he added.
In a media statement, MBSJ said it was committed to strengthening sports and recreational development through continued support of large-scale programmes and championships.
The city council said such initiatives would benefit the community while positioning Subang Jaya as a progressive, active and liveable city as well as preferred destination for national and international sports tourism.
