SEPANG, April 19 ― Ustaz Azraie Abdul Hak was crowned champion of the ‘Tilawah’ category at the 9th International Quran Recital Competition in Kuwait.
Azraie said he defeated participants from 75 other countries by scoring 96 per cent, and received a cash prize of KUD 5,000 (RM64,857) as well as a certificate of appreciation.
“My participation in the Tilawah competitions in Moscow, Turkey and Iran had given me a lot of experience to improve my recitation and performance this time,” he said.
“This is the first time I’ve been crowned as an international champion,” he told reporters upon arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here, today.
He said the competition in Kuwait was quite challenging for him, as the judging system was meticulous and he was competing with experienced reciters who had won previous competitions.
“Even mistakes in diacritics can disqualify a participant, and they will only receive a consolation prize,” he said.
In the competition, a participant from Iran was placed second while the third place was won by a participant from Morocco.
Azraie, who is from Melaka, had also finished runner-up in the 2018 national level Quran Recital Competition which took place earlier this month. ― Bernama
