PAPAR: The Sabah junior boxing squad created history when they emerged as overall champions at the 2023 National Junior Talent Boxing Championships held at Kubah Ria Square, Sarawak, recently.
Seven of the 11 junior Sabah boxers who contributed medals at the meet are from Papar.
In fact one of the Papar boxers, Luke Marshall, 15, was also awarded National Junior Boxer With Potential in the 15-16 year-old category at the championship which saw the participation of 90 boxers from five states namely Sabah, Sarawak, Johor, Terengganu and Perlis.
Sabah coach, Rozaimy Ahad said the team won 5 golds, 3 silvers and 3 bronzes.
He said the Sabah contingent consisted of 11 boxers and that not only did they all win medals, they were also new faces who had never competed at any championships.
“These young boxers who are all still in secondary school were given just two months of intensive training by their respective coaches. “Despite the short duration, we were able to able to produce skilled boxers which helped us win this prestigious championship,” said Rozaimy.
Rozaimy, who is a professional boxer, said that five of the gold medal winning boxers from Papar belong to the Tambuakar Muay Thai Club who receive direct guidance from him.
He hopes more young boxers with potential can be produced in the State especially in Papar which had produced many of the best junior boxers in Malaysia.
