KUALA NERUS, 11 May 2024 – Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) has created another history by being the sole university to have six of its students representing Malaysia in the sailing tournament FISU World University Championship in Italy.

Higher Education Deputy Minister Datuk Ts. Mustapha Sakmud said the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) is proud of the achievement and extends full support for the participation at the world’s stage.

“MOHE strongly encourages students to involve themselves in sports. At university level, we have Malaysian University Sports Carnival (Masum), which has been responsible for producing 20 percent of the country’s athletes.

“UMT students’ participation at the international tournament will increase the country’s visibility. Our students are ambassadors that will introduce Malaysia to the world,” he said during his official visit to UMT today.

Meanwhile, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and International) Prof. Ts. Dr. Mohd Zamri Ibrahim who is currently performing the function of Vice Chancellor congratulated the students on being qualified to participate at the renowned event.

“UMT sailing team has been successful in several competitions at the international level, including finishing as 1^st runner up in the Kingdom Match and Fleet in Bahrain at the end of last year.

“Congratulations and well done on being qualified to take part in the tournament in Italy from 4 – 11 June 2024”.

Muhammad Faris Aiman, leader of the UMT sailing team to Italy, said all the members are currently training hard in the country to better prepare for the tournament.

Every day he and team members will train for up to four hours to sharpen their skills and competency as they know they will be competing against sailors from other countries.

“We will be facing off against 16 teams from America, Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Japan, China, and France, and each of these teams has their own strengths.

“Although it will be challenging, we set a target to step on the podium at the tournament,” he said.

The six students participating in the tournament are Nur Muhammad Aqil Nadzri, 21, Mohamad Hanif Mohd Shafiee, 20; Nur Zulaikha Mohd Zafarin, 21; Nur Sofea Balqis Kamal Azalan, 21; Nur Ainul Izzati Zil Husham, 23, and Muhammad Faris Aiman Basri, 22.