The KOMTAR JBCC was transformed into a cauldron of excitement as fencers from around the country converged in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor for the 2nd KOMTAR JBCC Allez Johor 2024 earlier this month. The event saw hundreds of young fencers in various disciplines compete from the Under 8 category upwards through to the open category.
Held from 8 to 11 November 2024, the event was graced by the Mayor of Johor Bahru, Datuk Haji Mohd Noorazam bin Datuk Haji Osman who enjoyed the action and presented many of the winners with medals.
News Hub Asia, when speaking with Saif Nordin who picked up the Gold in the Under 15 category and a Silver in the Open Men’s category, learnt that the tournament has grown in stature.
Saif commented, “The KOMTAR JBCC Allez Johor is always a fun event – the venue was full of people and this year I had a better performance than last year.”
He went into the final as the underdog against Kingston Chang who fences for Sarawak, and according to Saif, “It’s never easy losing after the score was 14-14 in the final, but all credit goes to Kingston who fought a good match. This event was a good preparation for the upcoming national ranking tournaments next month.”
In the Under 15 foil, Saif dominated proceedings picking up the gold medal without losing a match.
When speaking exclusively with News Hub Asia, Coach Andrew Mok who coaches Saif out of the Touché Fencing Club in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, commented, “Saif continues to improve; we have been working on various aspects of his game. As he progresses as a fencer he will encounter stronger players from various parts of the world. They will have different styles and techniques, and we need to be able to deal with that.”
Observing Saif’s progress, Andrew continued, “This was a good performance – a few weeks ago, Saif finished twenty-seventh in the International Fencing Federation (FIE) Satellite tournament in Singapore. Fencing the older and stronger fencers on the international stage means he needs to bring all the elements of his game together quickly and in a meaningful way that scores points on the piste.”
“Congratulations to the team at Allez Johor Fencing Academy and the Johor Fencing Association for putting on a great tournament. It has set a good example for other state associations who have aspirations of developing the sport of fencing in Malaysia,” concluded Andrew.
Also present at the competition were Ts. Ekmaluddin Ishak, Director of Johor Sports Council; Mdm Rusni Abu Hassan, President of Malaysian Fencing Federation; Datuk Najib Samuri, President of Johor Fencing Association; and Sharifah Fairuz Syed Hashim, Head of Marketing at KOMTAR JBCC. Partners and sponsors of the 2nd KOMTAR JBCC Allez Johor 2024 include the Johor State Sports Council (MSNJ), Johor Bahru City Council (MBJB), KOMTAR JBCC and Sunway City Iskandar Puteri.
The next tournaments on the horizon are the Third Malaysian Fencing Federation (MFF) International Minime and the South East Asian Fencing Federation (SEAFF) Open in December in Kuala Lumpur.
Watch this segment as we cover the excitement of the fencing world across Asia. 
