The inaugural 2022 Johor International Petanque Championship, which officially closed its curtains last weekend, witnessed some exhilarating action as participants lit up the “gravels” with notable victories over their respective opponents.
History was made when the tournament was officially recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) for successfully attracting the largest number of entries for the sport (Petanque).
The official record proclamation was announced by Dato’ Hj On Jabbar @ Jaafar, the Johor Deputy State Secretary (Sports, Youth & Volunteers) this evening during the championship’s closing and prize-giving ceremony.
The championship which took place at Arena Emas, Taman Impian Emas and Arena Petanque MBJB over the course of two days, recorded a total of 948 participants involving 512 teams from 9 countries competing in two categories (men’s & women’s pairs).
Dato’ On expressed his pride in Johor’s ability to organise a systematic and reputable event for the betterment of Petanque in the nation while hoping to continue this as an annual event on par with the International Petanque Federation’s (FIPJP) tournament calendar.
He said, “I’m overwhelmed with the reception for this championship as we received participation entries from 9 countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, Brunei, and India for this inaugural edition. It’s indeed a proud moment for us to receive recognition from the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) in regard to this championship.
The grand scale of this Petanque tournament also proves that Johor is determined to host more international sporting tournaments with the aim of bolstering the image of the state and the nation in the future,” he added.
In addition to that, Dato’ On further conveyed his heartfelt gratitude to Claude Azema, President of the International Petanque Federation for allocating his time and effort to officiate the championship while witnessing Johor’s world-class sports facilities which have all the prospects to cater to international sporting events/championships in the coming future.
Claude Azema also praised the organisers for their success in managing to attract a huge number of participants for this championship and he firmly believes that the Petanque court at Arena Emas is indeed a world-class facility as it has the capability of hosting more international tournaments in the future.
Meanwhile, the men’s pair from Thailand, Thanakorn Sangkeawl – Chaiwat Ketngam who represents Madu Tiga 9 overcame a fiery battle from their Thai counterpart with a score of 13-4.
Commenting on their victory, “We didn’t aim or expect to win in this championship as we only planned to gain some exposure and experience via this championship. We’re absolutely flabbergasted with our achievement, and we hope to continue this momentum in our upcoming tournaments.”
The pair further iterated that they were amazed at the hospitability showcased by the organizers of the championship. “We’re thankful to Johor and Malaysia for accepting and treating us with the utmost respect throughout this championship. With more than 948 participants in this championship, the organisers have done a splendid job in ensuring the championship is well managed and organised,” the pair added.
On the other hand, Nantawan Fueangsanit – Panthipa Wong Chu Wet emerged as champions upon defeating Anjani Dwi Aprillah – Sephia Febriyanti in the finals. The Thailand stalwarts managed to overcome their Indonesian opponents from team JATIM A, 13-6 by dominating the women’s category with ease.
The debut edition of the 2022 Johor International Petanque Championship saw the champions bringing back a cool cash prize and tournament trophies of RM6000 for the men’s category while the women’s category brought back prize money of RM4000.
