Isa wants Felda women boxers at international meets

Felda aims to deliver a knockout blow for the gentler sex in its bid to produce a Felda women's boxing team to represent the country.

Felda chairperson Mohd Isa Abdul Samad hopes to achieve this feat through the Tan Sri Isa (Felda) Boxing Academy in Serting Hilir which he officially opened today.

The boxing academy is the first boxing training centre under the Felda concept.

Mohd Isa felt the boxing academy could set up a women's boxing team and the country could scout for boxing talents there to represent the country.

"I see many Felda youngsters are interested in boxing. Since three years ago, we tried to expand the sport from time to time and hoped the academy would be the centre to train boxers from among the residents of Felda," he said.

He was speaking to reporters after attending the Felda Chairman's Cup Boxing Championships in Jempol yesterday. The boxing academy was launched during the event.

At the championships, three women took part to display their pugilistic skills.

Meanwhile, the five-day championships which began on Thursday, saw 43 boxers from eight regions competing in seven categories.

The seven categories are 49kg, 52kg, 56kg, 60kg, 64kg, 69kg and 75kg.

In the championships, Kuantan Region Felda was crowned the best team when it collected the most number of medals and took home the revolving trophy.

Wan Muhammad Hafizul Wan, 16, of Kuantan Region was awarded the 'Potential Boxer' award while Muhammad Syukri Md Amran, 15, of the Raja Alias Felda Region won the 'Best Boxer' award in the competition.

- Bernama