The two-day Malaysia Sanda King Open 2024 (Gan Kong Lee Cup) was held at the Negeri Sembilan Chin Woo Association Hall March 22-24, 2024, and was opened by Negeri Sembilan State Executive Councillor Mustapha Nago, with the tournament officially kicking off at 12:00 noon on March 22nd. The tournament was originally planned for 2020 but was postponed to this year due to the impact of the epidemic.
The competition lasted for two days and comprised of 44 events with participants of all ages, ranging from 6 to 18 years old, divided into 5 groups (one for each gender). A total of 16 teams from 11 states registered for the competition, with a total of 173 participants, far exceeding expectations and receiving an overwhelming response. The tournament offered generous prizes for the top four athletes in each category, the best male and female athletes, the best coaches, the best team leaders, the wushu moral award, and the overall champion.
The event was hosted by the Wushu Federation of Malaysia with the support of various organizations including the International Wushu Federation, Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Malaysia, Malaysian Youth and Sports Ministry, Ministry of Education Malaysia, and the National Sports Council of Malaysia.
Dato' (Dr.) Chong Kim Fatt, Executive Board Member of the IWUF and President of the Wushu Federation of Malaysia, said that the competition is an important step for the Malaysian Wushu community to go to the world stage. He hoped that the competition would unearth more potential sanda players and allow Malaysia to shine on the international sanda stage.
Chong Kim Fatt was pleased with the joint effort by the Negeri Sembilan Youth Sports Department and the Negeri Sembilan Tourism Department, saying that it was an important boost to the development of sanda in Malaysia by elevating the informal competition, which was originally restricted to the private sector, to an official competition.
