- Christian Didier and partner Mohd Fadli Farish crowned as champions of the Intermediate category in Malaysia’s first and largest padel championship
- First padel tournament to be held across all three Klang Valley padel clubs, seeing 324 participants from 162 teams battling to the top over two weekends.
KUALA LUMPUR, 19 June 2024 – The Volvo Padel Open, Malaysia’s first and largest padel tournament, came to a grand conclusion on Saturday after three consecutive weekends, where the best of 324 padel players competed for the title of Malaysia’s top padel team.
Aimed at introducing new players to the sport, elevating the game in Malaysia and growing the padel community, the Volvo Padel Open accepted registrations for three categories – Open, Intermediate, and Women’s – offering a total prize pool of RM100,000 in cash, Volvo merchandise and the opportunity to experience a fully electric Volvo car for up to two weeks.
PHOTO 1: The champions of the Volvo Padel Open won cash prizes, official Volvo merchandise, a two-week experience with a fully electric Volvo, and the title of the best teams in this year’s Open, Intermediate, and Women’s categories.
The Volvo Padel Open kicked-off in the first weekend of June with complimentary coaching clinics for participants in the Open category, which saw more than 200 beginner players learn the basics of the sport across all three Klang Valley padel clubs – ASCARO Padel & Social Club, Padelground, and PadelKu.
PHOTO 2, 3 & 4: The complimentary coaching clinics offered new and semi-experienced players alike an opportunity to hone their techniques and tactical skills on the court with guidance from professional coaches.
Armed with new skills, 113 teams in the Open category then tested their mettle against in round robin group matches during qualifiers on 8 and 9 June, where the 32 top teams across all three padel clubs were shortlisted to compete in the final rounds concurrently with the 48 teams in the Intermediate and Women’s categories.
PHOTO 5, 6 & 7: Teams from the Open category faced off in heart-pumping round robin matches over two days, which saw the best of each group advance to the final Round of 32 the following Saturday.
On Saturday, 15 June, ASCARO Padel & Social Club was transformed as the venue for the final showdown between 80 finalist teams from all categories, with more than 350 participants and their guests witnessing intense elimination matches that elevated the standard of the sport since its local introduction last year.
PHOTO 8 & 9: Chua Tiong Hoey and Aaron Lee Jun Meng were crowned champions of the Open category held over two consecutive weekends, beating out 112 other teams including the mixed doubles runner-up team comprising Mohd Faizal Othman and Intan Sarah Anisah binti Zulgafli in a decisive 6-2, 6-2 set win.
PHOTO 10: The Intermediate category saw 32 seasoned and experienced teams competing for the highest grand prize worth RM20,000, with Christian Didier and Mohd Fadli Farish defeating Spaniards Oscar Balaguer Cabeza and Daniel Montero Puig in an intense three-set match of 6-2, 5-6, and 6-3.
PHOTO 11 & 12: Meanwhile, Malaysians Rachel Mei Ling Yong and Delia Odette Arnold were crowned champions in the women-only category of 16 teams, dominating opponents Hayat Al-Musally and Sofia Yoon Jung Norup in two consecutive sets of 6-5, 6-3 to take home the trophy.
Volvo Car Malaysia was an early champion of the sport last year when it held its first Koppla sporting event exclusively for Volvo owners soon after the opening of ASCARO Padel & Social Club, the first padel club in Malaysia.
Speaking at the finals, Patricia Yaw, Marketing Operations and PR Director of Volvo Car Malaysia, commented, “Padel is very popular in Volvo’s birthplace in Sweden, and this year we decided to expand our passion for the sport to the entire padel community in Malaysia. We are proud to champion a people-first sport that has strong historic roots that has evolved with exciting, modern gameplay, similar to how Volvo builds upon our long safety legacy with our new electric cars and fully electric ambitions by 2030.”
PHOTO 14: Patricia Yaw, Marketing Operations and PR Director of Volvo Car Malaysia (4th from left) with Oliver Cheah and Thomas-Alexandre Ryard of Padelground 1st and 2nd from left); Daniel Liljekvist, Nicholas Caoile and Stan Zabolotsky of ASCARO Padel & Social Club (3rd, 5th and 6th from left); and Michelle Beh and Charl Marais of PadelKu (2nd and 1st from right).
Visit the official tournament leaderboard at https://padel.volvocarmalaysia.com for the final scores.
For more information on the Volvo Padel Open, www.volvocars.com/my or follow Volvo Car Malaysia on bit.ly/VolvoMY-FB and Instagram at bit.ly/VolvoMY-IG.
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About Volvo Car Malaysia
Volvo Cars established its presence in Malaysia in the early 1960s before formally establishing Volvo Car Malaysia in 1999. Since then, Volvo Car Malaysia has gone from strength to strength and built a network of 14 dealers across the country.
The popularity and demand for Volvo cars locally had led to the establishment of the Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia in 1967, which is now Malaysia’s oldest and longest-running vehicle assembly plant. In 2016, Volvo Car Malaysia was the first market to locally assemble the XC90 PHEV outside of Sweden, paving the way for the assembly of other Volvo PHEVs whilst continuously providing a sustainable and safe driving experience. Volvo Car Malaysia sells premium-segment car models in two versions: sedans (S60 and S90) and SUVs (C40, XC40, XC60 and XC90).
As of February 2021, it became the first automxotive brand in Malaysia to offer a full range of PHEVs for all its models. In line with its global vision of becoming climate neutral by 2040, Volvo Car Malaysia is committed to bringing greater awareness on the current climate challenges to Malaysians and aims to become a leader in sustainability in the automotive industry through its product offerings, business operations, and local initiatives.
Volvo Cars in 2023
For the full year 2023, Volvo Car Group recorded a record-breaking core operating profit of SEK 25.6 billion. Revenue in 2023 amounted to an all-time high of SEK 399.3 billion, while global sales reached a record 708,716 cars.
About Volvo Car Group
Volvo Cars was founded in 1927. Today, it is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales to customers in more than 100 countries. Volvo Cars is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange, where it is traded under the ticker “VOLCAR B”.
“For life. To give people the freedom to move in a personal, sustainable and safe way.” This purpose is reflected in Volvo Cars’ ambition to become a fully electric car maker by 2030 and in its commitment to an ongoing reduction of its carbon footprint, with the ambition to be a climate-neutral company by 2040.
As of December 2023, Volvo Cars employed approximately 43,400 full-time employees. Volvo Cars’ head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars’ production plants are located in Gothenburg, Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (US), Chengdu, Daqing and Taizhou (China). The company also has R&D and design centres in Gothenburg and Shanghai (China).
Contact Details:
Volvo Car Malaysia
Ezra Low
Email: yung.yau.ezra.low@volvocars.com
Izzat Khairuddin
Email: izzat@lab.com.my
