Malaysia’s No. 1 cadet fencer Uzair Zafran Badroel Rizwan (main image), will compete in next month’s World Championships in Wuxi, China. The world meet is from April 7-15.
He was initially suspended by the Malaysian Fencing Federation (MFF) for allegedly “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”.
The federation has since reversed its decision after accepting an appeal and a €500 fine.
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.
“It is such a relief that I will be able to compete in China, as this is my last year as a cadet,” said Uzair Zafran, who is studying at Newman School in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States.
“Missing out would have been heartbreaking. I’m glad MFF accepted our appeal against the suspension.
“I’m feeling quite confident going into the tournament. I have less than a month to get ready and will spend the next two weeks in Malaysia preparing for it.”
Uzair Zafran believes he can go further than his performance at the last World Championships.
“There are a few gaps in my style that I need to work on. I need to reduce my mistakes if I am to go far in the sport,” said Uzair Zafran, who dreams of competing in the Olympics.
“It is not easy to qualify for the Olympics, but it would be great if I could do so. I have no set targets, but the Los Angeles Games are in three years.
“I’m also focusing on my studies, as I would like to pursue a career in economics or science to fall back on.”
While he is focused on the World Championships, the situation could have been very different, as his father, Badroel Rizwan Bahar, received a letter from MFF on Feb 24, stating that it had decided to prevent Uzair Zafran from competing in the World Championships.
On March 3, Badroel Rizwan held a press conference to deny his son had withdrawn “without an acceptable reason”.
He explained that, on the first occasion last October, Uzair Zafran’s name was successfully withdrawn from an event in Samorin, Slovakia, as he had just arrived at his new school.
On the second occasion, Badroel Rizwan informed MFF that his son had examinations on Jan 20 and would not return on time if he competed in Heraklion.
He wrote to MFF on Jan 16 to inform them of the decision to withdraw, and MFF replied on Jan 17 that it would notify the organisers.
“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,” said Badroel Rizwan.
“We are grateful for the support of all the coaches, fencers, and members of the fencing community for their words of encouragement throughout this ordeal.
“We would also like to extend our appreciation and thanks to the president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, Tan Sri Norza Zakaria, and its secretary-general, Datuk Nazifuddin Najib, for intervening in the matter.”
