Anuar Faiq Mat Saat (Far Right) with Team Malaysia at the Third World Traditional Archery Championship in Gyula, Hungary.
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Malaysia to Hungary, H.E. Francisco Munis, was present to support and encourage the Malaysian traditional archery team at the Third World Traditional Archery Championship, which took place in Gyula, Hungary.
Saharuddin Mohd Hassan; HE Francisco Munis; Anuar Faiq Mat Saat
He is immensely proud of the Malaysian delegation’s achievements. They made history by winning third and fourth place for the adult male category. Furthermore, the team bagged second and fourth place for the junior female category, fourth for the junior male category, fourth for the group category, and top ten for the veteran category.
Siti Nur Aisyah Yusup & Dhia Darwisya acknowledged for their success
H.E. Francisco Munis said, “I am very excited to witness the dedication of our traditional archery athletes. They were fully dressed in their traditional clothes and competing on historical grounds in Hungary. Our athletes seem to be very able and competitive. The efforts of our athletes must be continuously supported.”
The organizer of this tournament, HDH International Archery Association (HDH-IAA), also appointed the first International Traditional Archery Judge from Malaysia and Asia. This aims to develop the sport in Malaysia and the region to ensure compliance with international traditional archery standards.
In the adult male category, Saharuddin Mohd Hassan, 34 years old, recorded 292 points making him the third place winner whereas Ahmad Alrafaie, 44 years old, recorded the second highest point of the tournament with 318 marks, placing the contestant in fourth place based on a new scoring system introduced by the organizers.
Saharudin Alrafaie
Saharuddin said, “I am honored to compete with the world’s greatest archers gathered in this championship. They appear to use wooden or natural arrows equipped with heavy bows. However, locally made bows were able to match with tho produced in Europe.”.
Siti Nur Aisyah Yusup
Siti Nur Aisyah Yusup, 17 years old, second place winner in the long-distance event said, “I was almost disqualified from competing due to technical errors, and the bow that I used did not comply with the tournament’s specifications. I was lucky enough to be allowed to rectify my mistakes. Otherwise, my late father’s dream for me to compete and succeed internationally will not be fulfilled. He was also a traditional archer and this achievement is meant to honor his memory. I am extremely excited and moved to compete in this tournament.”.
Dhia Darwisya & H.E. Francisco Munis
Dhia Darwisya, 16, and Thaqif Hifzhan, 14, came in fourth place in their respective categories in the Junior Traditional Archery event. They said: “We have trained hard and came fourth among the best in the world. We started with bows that have a light draw, and now we use bows that is comparable to adult archers.
Ismail Abd Kadir; H.E. Francisco Munis; Ahmad Alrafaie; Anuar Faiq Mat Saat
Ismail Abd Kadir, 60 years old, were among the top ten best veteran archer in the world by finishing in ninth place. He said, “I started practicing traditional archery a few months ago. I am genuinely concerned about my age competing against world champions. Praise be to god as I trained under the supervision of other team members, I achieved my dream. Age is not a factor as there is strength in archery.”.
Anuar Faiq Mat Saat
Anuar Faiq Mat Saat, the newly appointed Official International Judge for traditional archery under the HDH-IAA and Secretary of the Malaysian Traditional Archers Association (PERTAMA), said, “We must ensure our archers comply with international standards and laws. “My aim is to ensure that our traditional archery athletes are world-class quality. With the right leadership and support, we can achieve continuous success as we did before with Ahmad Alrafaei (1st Place, Fateh Kupasi, Turkey, 2019), Dhia Darwisya (1st Place Junior, Bhutan, 2019), Thaqif Hifzhan (2nd Place Junior, Bhutan, 2019) and most recently, the Malaysian traditional archery team for the Islamic Soliditary Games, Konya, Turkey (ISG) – PERTAMA (1st & 2nd Place, Turkey, 2022).”
Vanky Sebastian, Ionu Dosa, Anuar Faiq, Adrian
The Third World Traditional Archery Championship, held in Gyula, Hungary, from 14 – 20 August 2022, is a world-class tournament participated by 21 countries and organised by the HDH International Archery Association (HDH-IAA). The team was supported by is supported by Adabi, Malaysian Traditional Archers Association (PERTAMA), and Ahmad Alrafaie, supported by Johor Bharu City Council (MBJB), Rumah Tenun Pahang, Ismail Holding, and Dato’ Sri Zuri Abdullah.
