By Za'im Zaini
Brunei and Malaysia will go head to head in the final of the first ever Asean Invitational Traditional Tug-of-War Championship, held in conjunction with His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam's 60th birthday celebrations, on August 5 at Taman Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien in the capital.
The event will also see Indonesia battling with Thailand for the third place.
"Brunei will try their best to win the trophy," said manager of Brunei national tug-of-war team Inspector Haji Mohd Reduan during a recent dinner that saw T-shirts, sponsored by Waqi Sdn Bhd, Nur EWC Sdn Bhd, Aerod Engineering Sdn Bhd and Hussyn Livestock Sdn Bhd, being handed over to Brunei team members.
He also said the 24-member team, comprising mainly personnel from the Royal Brunei Police Force, had been training hard since the end of April.
The team also attended open discussions where their techniques were put under the microscope.
Inspector Haji Mohd Reduan believed the participation of Brunei team in the tug-of-war competition would add festivities to His Majesty's 60th birthday celebrations.
The first heat of the tournament was held on Tuesday evening at Taman Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien where seven teams from Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam battled it out in 10 matches to qualify for the next round.
Present during the competition were Minister of Home Affairs Pehin Dato Haji Awang Adanan bin Pehin Dato Awang Hj Mohd Yusof and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Pehin Awang Haji Dani bin Haji Ibrahim.
During the first round, both Brunei and Malaysia obtained 18 points, followed by Indonesia with 12 points, Thailand with six points, Vietnam with 5.5 points, Philippines with five points and Singapore with zero point.
Meanwhile, the winning team will take home a trophy, a cash prize of $10,000, and medals.
The first runner-up will receive a trophy, cash prize of $7,000 and medals, while the second runner-up, a trophy, cash prize of $5,000 and medal.
Consolation cash prize of $1,000 and a trophy will also be awarded to each of the other participating teams.
- Borneo Bulletin
(4th August 2006)
