PENAMPANG: Teams from Kinarut, Team Ramp Bow and Team GeramBeat dominated the migazat dukug (tug-of-war) event in the traditional games in conjunction with the 2026 State-level Kaamatan Festival at Hongkod Koisaan, Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA), here.
Team Ramp Bow won the men’s open category (680kg), followed by Team Sixth 7 Tow from Penampang, while third place went to Team Reborn from Kota Marudu.
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Meanwhile, Team GeramBeat emerged as champions in the women’s open category (560kg), followed by Team Dinamik Women Puller from Kota Marudu in second place and Team Tambunan in third.
The Men’s Open (Open Weight) category was won by Team Sixth 7 Tow from Penampang, while second place went to Team Rudal D9 from Limbang and Team GeramBeat finished in third place.
Meanwhile, the mipulos (arm wrestling) event for the boys’ under-18 category saw Nathanael Evander Sooyon claim first place, defeating Crist Yuan Zone in second place, while the joint-third place went to Mohd Amir Fahmi and Alther Adler.
For the mipulos category of 85kg and above, the champion title went to Radical Randie Mu, second place went to Jordan Luke Chin and the joint-third place was shared by Ronald Janssen Mansuet and Frankie Petrus.
National arm-wrestling champion Joyce Heng Shu Xia won the women’s 60kg and above arm-wrestling category, while Amyley Wilson took second place and joint-third place was shared by Fredda Beniji Freddy and Edith Lojuyo.
Meanwhile, for the mipulos women’s 59kg and below category, first place was won by Nicole Amanda Jiral, second place by Vivie Victor, while joint-third place went to Christine Mary Jeffrey and Rita Langap.
The men’s 85kg and below arm-wrestling category featured Raymond Wong as the first-place winner, followed by Larry Bernad in second place, with Nicky Cheah and Wilson Chong sharing joint-third place.
The Men’s 70kg and below category was won by Victor Larry, followed by Mohd Shafiq Nikson and Aldrian Izac Edmond in second and third places respectively.
The arm wrestling was further enlivened by participation in the Veterans aged 45 and above category, which was won by Jolly Johnson, followed by Oliver Joseph in second place and Esmond Ampilah in third.
Prizes were also presented for other traditional games, including manandus (spearing), monopuk (blowpipe), sipatu tompulalanggoi (giant clogs) and tumutu (paddy processing).
The prize-giving ceremony was officiated by Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam, who is also the 2026 State-Level Kaamatan Festival Main Organising Committee Chairman, alongside the Assistant Youth Development, Sports Advancement and Creative Economy Minister Datuk Seri Dr Anil Sandhu at SMK Bahang Hall here Sunday.
For the record, the traditional games encompass 10 events, namely tug-of-war, arm wrestling, catapulting, fire-making, rampanau (stilt-walking), buffalo-lassoing, spearing, blowpipe, giant clogs, and paddy processing, some of which had already taken place on the first day of the event according to their respective categories.
