TAWAU: About 500 athletes including coaches and team officials are taking part in the electronic sports (e-Sports) competition held in conjunction with the 11th Sabah Games (SAGA) 2025.
Competition Director Usman Ibrahim said the event is being held from Oct 11 to 16 and the contingent briefing had been held on Oct 10.
“This is the second time the event is being organised, following the first edition in Kota Kinabalu in 2023.
“Three games are contested this year namely, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), e-Football, and Tekken.
“For the MLBB category, there are 26 men’s teams and 19 women’s teams, while e-Football has eight women’s teams and about 20 men’s teams. Tekken will only feature the men’s category,” he said when met by the media at the Form Six College Hall here on Saturday.
He added that a total of five gold medals are up for grabs, compared to six originally planned.
Usman hoped that the number of participants will continue to grow and that e-Sports will receive ongoing support from all parties.
The Pencak Silat competition at the ongoing Sabah Games (SAGA) XI 2025 offers a total of 26 gold medals.
According to Delegation Technical Chief Moksin Shaari, around 1,000 participants including technical officials and team managers are taking part in the event this year.
“The SAGA XI Pencak Silat competition is held for eight days starting from Oct 10 involving participation from 30 districts across the state.
“This sport features two categories namely, Silat Tanding and Silat Seni with a total of 26 gold medals offered for the men’s events and ten for the women’s events.
“I would like to invite the public to come and support our athletes throughout the competition,” he told reporters at the Dewan Masyarakat, here on Saturday.
He also reminded athletes to maintain their health and ensure they are in their best condition before stepping into the arena.
The final round for Silat Seni is scheduled in the afternoon of Oct 16, while the Silat Tanding finals will take place on the morning of Oct 17.
The karate event kicked off its competition at the Dewan Ixora, Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) Tun Mustapha, with 16 gold medals up for grabs in two main disciplines which are Kata and Kumite.
In the Kata discipline, two gold medals are contested in the men’s and women’s individual events.
Meanwhile, Kumite promises fiercer competition with 14 categories being contested, including the women’s individual 45kg and 50kg, as well as the men’s and women’s 55kg events.
The final rounds are set to take place on Sunday afternoon, where participants will battle for the SAGA 2025 karate championship titles.
The Kota Belud and Tawau teams each recorded important victories in the men’s hockey preliminary matches on the fourth day of the 11th Sabah Games held at the Hockey Stadium in Sports Complex here, on Saturday.
In the morning match, Kota Belud displayed an energetic performance, defeating Kota Marudu with a 6-2 score line, strengthening their position in the group stage.
Meanwhile, the host team Tawau capitalised on their home advantage, beating Kota Kinabalu with a 6-3 score-line in a thrilling encounter that saw both sides exchange attacks from the first whistle.
The men’s hockey competition continued in the afternoon with a match between Sandakan and Keningau which was expected to determine the final group standings before the knockout stage.
The Sabah Games (SAGA) XI 2025 held from Oct 8 to 17, brings together 9,000 athletes and technical officials from 30 teams state-wide competing in 24 sports events across several main venues around Tawau.
