Malaysian fencer Uzair Zafran Badroel Rizwan is stunned after being suspended from representing the country at next month’s World Championships in China.
The Malaysian Fencing Federation (MFF) informed him that he had been suspended for “failing to attend” the International Fencing Federation (FIE) World Junior Men’s Foil event in Heraklion, Greece, from Jan 18-19 “without an acceptable reason.”
Uzair Zafran, 16, is Malaysia’s top cadet and second-ranked junior fencer. Cadets are fencers aged 17 and younger, while juniors are those aged 20 and under.
At a press conference in Centrepoint Bandar Utama this morning, his father, Badroel Rizwan Bahar, said they received the suspension notice via a letter from MFF on Feb 24, while Uzair Zafran was competing at the Asian Championships in Kuwait from Feb 19-28. He was also instructed to pay the association €500 as a fine for his withdrawal.
According to the letter, MFF stated this was the second time Uzair Zafran had withdrawn from a competition. Last October, his name was successfully withdrawn from an event in Samorin, Slovakia.
“My son is studying in the United States and had examinations on Jan 20. After realising he couldn’t make it back to school on time, we wrote to MFF on Jan 16 to inform them he had to withdraw. MFF replied the next day (Jan 17), stating they would notify the organisers,” said Badroel Rizwan, who is also the Federal Territory Amateur Fencing Association (FTAFA) president.
“We thought everything was settled since MFF allowed him to compete in the Asian Championships. But before the event could even conclude, we received a letter stating he was suspended from representing Malaysia at the World Championships.
“We were shocked. How is it that MFF allowed him to compete in the Asian event but not the world meet?”
Badroel Rizwan said he was willing to pay the €500 fine but appealed to MFF to lift the suspension. He also insisted that MFF had been informed in advance about his son’s inability to compete in Slovakia.
“I have no issues paying the fine as required by the rules. But I want to ask – did MFF properly inform the organisers about my son’s withdrawal from Greece?” he asked.
“We wrote to MFF on Feb 27 requesting them to lift the suspension, as we need to arrange flight and accommodation details. They responded that they would get back to us,” he said.
“We are appealing for MFF to decide as soon as possible. We only have about two weeks left to finalise the details for the World Championships.”
Badroel Rizwan broke down as he spoke about his son’s sacrifices, studying at Newman School in Boston, Massachusetts, to further his fencing career.
“It is every athlete’s dream to compete in the World Championships. I appeal to MFF to let my son compete. Based on national rankings, he is more than qualified,” he said.
Meanwhile, Uzair Zafran’s sparring partner, Marcus Broberg of Sweden, expressed surprise at the suspension.
“I have pulled out on the eve of competitions before and had to pay a fine, but my association never suspended me,” said the 2023 European Junior Championships silver medallist.
“I feel for Uzair. He is a talented fencer who can do well in China. I hope the Malaysian federation allows him to compete.”
Twentytwo13 attempted to contact MFF but received no response. An email was also sent to MFF regarding the matter.
