Earlier last month, Negeri Sembilan Fencing Association (NSFA) concluded its three-day Negeri Sembilan Youth Challenge 2024 in Seremban the capital city of Negeri Sembilan state in Malaysia.
The Negeri Sembilan Youth Challenge 2024 (NSYC), which took place from 6 to 8 July 2024 at the Seremban Prima Mall saw over 330 individual entries and 38 team entries, which included participants from Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia, as well as from numerous clubs and state associations from all over Malaysia.
The second edition of the NSYC came to fruition with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Malaysian Fencing Federation (MFF), the Negeri Sembilan State Sports Council (MSNNS) and several corporate sponsors.
“We are over-whelmed by the support from the Malaysian fencing community, as well as from our friends from our neighbouring ASEAN countries. As a youth tournament, this event allows our young Malaysians fencers, some as young as 8 and 9 years old, to cross swords with other young fencers from both Malaysia and abroad,” said Tengku Datuk Mu’adzam Sadruddin bin Tengku Noone Aziz, president of NSFA.
“We also took this opportunity to develop our young referees and technical team who gained invaluable experience during this three-day event. I am happy to say that with the combination of our youth together with our experienced officials, the event ran largely without a hitch.”
He continued, “Following the success of the inaugural NSYC in June last year, when we saw over 260 entries from all over Malaysia, we decided to include a team event this year. Fencing is largely an individual sport, but with team events, it injects a sense of team spirit and support, which we happily witnessed during the third day of the tournament. Seeing the venue come alive with the loud cheers of fencers, parents and coaches was spectacular.”
“This event was also an opportunity for Malaysia’s U-17 fencers, many of whom will be competing in this year’s Sukan Malaysia, to hone their skills before heading off to Sarawak for SUKMA XXI in August 2024. In addition, holding the event in Seremban Prima Mall provides the general public to see the sport in action, and perhaps it might inspire young Negeri Sembilan children to decide to pick up the sport thus increasing the talent pool of potential fencers for the foreseeable future,” concluded Tengku Datuk Mu’adzam.
EXCO member of the Negeri Sembilan state government, Datuk Mohd Faizal bin Ramli, said, “As a member of the Negeri Sembilan government appointed to oversee the sport of fencing, I am excited to see that this event has participants from not just from other states in Malaysia but also participants from Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. This event shows the growing popularity of fencing in Negeri Sembilan, which we hope will benefit the state in the future.”
“We are pleased to have provided our support to the Persatuan Lawan Pedang Negeri Sembilan (NSFA) in organising this event. It is part of our ongoing development of the sport, encouraging our state associations to host tournaments on home grounds. This year has already seen competitions held in Perak, Sarawak and Negeri Sembilan with Melaka and Johor planning their events later this year,” said Madam Rusni Abu Hassan, president of the Malaysian Fencing Federation.
“We are looking forward to SUKMA XXI, Sarawak in August after which MFF will be hosting two international events, the South East Asia Fencing Federation Minime and the Malaysia Open,” she continued.
Director of Negeri Sembilan State Sports Council (MSNNS) Datuk Haji Sabuddin bin Haji Sani said, “We are pleased to see the return of the NSYC tournament this year, and hope that it will continue for many years. We thank the Persatuan Lawan Pedang Negeri Sembilan for their initiative in organising this event, and Majlis Sukan Negeri, Negeri Sembilan are always supportive of sporting events in our state, as it provides a strong platform for an active and healthy lifestyle, as well as building confidence, discipline and humility in our youth.”
The Negeri Sembilan Youth Challenge was held at Seremban Prima Mall, Seremban from 6 to 8 July 2024 and saw competition for medals at the individual Under-10, Under-12, Under-14 and Under-17 levels for both girls and boys, in the three fencing disciplines of Foil, Epee and Sabre. In addition, there were team competitions at the Under-12 and Under-17 levels for boys and girls in the three disciplines. 
