UPSI triumphs at the Dragons Cup 2025 in Elmshorn – without defeat!

UPSI triumphs at the Dragons Cup 2025 in Elmshorn – without defeat!

A proud triumph for the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) team: On June 15, 2025, the team was crowned champion of the Dragons Cup in Elmshorn, Germany. The competitions, which took place on June 14th and 15th, attracted a total of 17 teams from across Europe, including teams from France, Belgium and Switzerland. UPSI easily prevailed against the local team Elmshorn in the final round and won the game 2-0 after they had also clearly defeated last year's winner, the University of Heidelberg, in the group game.

“We made it through the tournament undefeated,” said coach Mohd Fadzlan Shah, delighted with his team’s success. He attributes this triumph to the intensive training sessions and targeted strategic planning. The entire process was led by Dr. Robe’ah Yusuf, another key person on the coaching staff.

Cultural highlights and collaboration

To showcase Malaysian culture, students from the Faculty of Language and Communication performed traditional crafts such as kompang playing and traditional dances at the opening ceremony of the tournament. In addition to the competition, there were also numerous workshops and demonstrations held by the UPSI players in schools such as the Boje Steffenschule, the Anne Frank School and the KGSE School.

The success of this event extends beyond sports. Dr. Mohd Amir, the accompanying representative of the delegation, highlighted that this victory not only inspires the athletes of young Malaysian athletes, but also opens the opportunity to develop closer cooperation in the field of sports and education with German institutions, especially the University of Hamburg. Initial discussions about future collaborations have already been held.

A look into the future of Sepaktakraw

These achievements come at a time when Malaysia is looking to take Sepaktakraw to a new level. In the future, an academy for Sepaktakraw will be set up at Jalan Raja Muda Stadium in Kampung Baru to systematically develop talent from the grassroots to the national team. This program, approved by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, is considered historic and is expected to help Malaysia return as a serious force in international sepaktakraw, according to Persatuan Sepaktakraw Malaysia president Datuk Sumali Reduan. The aim is to improve the training structures and establish a powerful talent development program that includes collaborations with educational institutions across the country.

So the future looks bright for sepaktakraw in Malaysia, and UPSI's recent success is just another step in this promising journey. It is clear to everyone involved: There is still a lot to do, but the direction is clearly right.

To learn more about this inspiring success, you can read the reports from The Vocket, Epena and NSC read.