KUALA LUMPUR, 23 December 2021 – Malaysians from across the nation put their strength to the test to prove they were the nation’s best and to become the Malaysian obstacle warrior champion at the Obstacle Warrior 2021 National Championships. The finals of the Obstacle Warrior National Championships saw super human performances of strength and agility as contestants navigated their way through larger-than-life obstacles which proved very challenging.
With only a short window for each participant to complete the course, this clearly was not a brain versus brawn situation as contestants had to use both mental and physical abilities to finish in the shortest possible time. Designed and developed in accordance with the international standard obstacle course, Escape Petaling Jaya showcased 22 different obstacles with various difficulty levels.
In a blistering performance of boundless speed and strength, No. 1 Male ranked Obstacle Race champion and triple SEA Games silver medalist 33-year-old Mohd Redha Bin Rozlan (or Mat Redho as he is commonly known) put in a blistering performance clocking in a time of 1.56.90. He was followed by 26-year-old, up and coming talent Muhamad Adib bin Nor Akhsan who put in a very competitive time of 2.23.12. Adib who was at the top of the competition ranking going into the finals and who was ranked 5th in the previous national championships, was a talent originally unearthed from UITM Shah Alam, but was not able to match the experience and maturity of Mat Redho on the day. In third place was Kayden Lee Borhan who at only 18 years old is a total newcomer to the sport of Obstacle Racing where he recorded a very impressive time of 2.45.32.
Meanwhile in the female category the placings were very close, however experience paid off in the end for 30-year-old National Women's 5km No. 1 and SEA Games silver medalist, Yip Hui Teng who put in a stellar performance to clock in at 4.26.19. She was closely followed by 27-year-old rookie Chen Shin Yee who recorded a time of 4.35.03 and 21-year-old Renee Tan, currently the No. 1 Women Rookie and breakout star of the national championships who notched up a time of 4.37.03.
The Youth category saw equally impressive performances from a number of male and female youth including many newcomers to the sport. For the male category 15-year-old Jules Mangin pushed the limits to lead the field setting a time of 3.55.75. He was followed closely by 16-year-old Zachary Liew Pui Hin and 15-year-old Aideen Bin Nordin. Meanwhile accomplished female youth athlete Shareen Mohd Nasran led the females clocking in a time of 4.40.95 followed by rookies, 17-year-old Andrea Lee Jian Ern at 7.38.43 and 15-year-old Calina Louise Parker at 8.10.81.
Owned and managed by World Sports Entertainment Sdn Bhd, the event saw the winners in each of the 3 categories (Male, Female and Youth) sharing in over RM 5,000 in prize money, split RM 1,000, RM 500 and RM 250 respectively with the youth male and female categories split equally.
Refer to Appendix 1 for the Finals Leaderboard of the top 3 placings for the Adult Male, Adult Female and Male and Female Youth.
Sanctioned by the Malaysian Obstacle Race Sports Association (MORSA) and approved by the National Sports Council, Escape Petaling Jaya and Paradigm Mall are the host venue for this year’s event via a strategic collaboration between World Sports Entertainment Sdn Bhd the event owner and promoter with Sim Leisure Group, who designed and built the international standard Obstacle Course within the Escape Petaling Jaya attraction.
Sharing his comments, Andrew Ng, Executive Director of World Sports Entertainment said, “We were truly impressed with the quality of performances we saw at the finals over the weekend. I was particularly encouraged at the competitiveness shown by many of the younger newcomers to the sport which shows it has a bright future in Malaysia.”
“I would like to give my sincere thanks to World Sports Entertainment for staging such a professional event and to all the partners who helped make the event possible, especially to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, National Sports Council, Sim Leisure Group and Paradigm Mall. Also, thank you for always believing in the spirit of sportsmanship and having a profound passion and love for this sport,” said Alex Cheah, President of MORSA.
Those interested to find out more can visit www.obstacle-warrior.com.
