Milo Father’s Day Tournament 2025: An Ode to the Joy of Pickleball
Father’s Day 2025 in Kuala Lumpur. A warm and quiet morning, and on the outskirts of the city, around 150 people gathered to celebrate Father’s Day at Pickle Lah! at Monkey’s Canopy.
Billed as a tournament to make memories to last a lifetime, the Milo Father’s Day Pickleball Tournament took us back to the reasons why this sport is so popular:
Players of all ages can compete – Check!
A game for all the family – Check!
A social game that brings people together – Check!
The tournament featured these categories:
- Fathers and child under 13
- Fathers and child any age (big kids)
- Fathers and daughters under 19
- Fathers and sons under 19
The vibe was fun, but the competition was still serious. The atmosphere was summed up by one 70+ father who lost in his third-place match but told PNA: “Today, I am still a winner, I got to spend my Father’s Day playing a tournament with my son. It was wonderful!”
Put simply, the Milo Father’s Day Pickleball Tournament showed that no matter your age, it’s never too late to build lasting bonds and memories with your kids.
And on the theme of never growing up, it never ceases to amaze us at PNA the impact a “Milo Truck” has at sporting events. When the truck turns up and the free Milo flows, it’s not just the kids that flock to join the queue, dads, mums, and everybody else are quick to get in line, too!
“’Milo is dedicated to nurturing future champions and promoting active lifestyles among the youth. We believe that sports are essential for building healthy communities and instilling values such as discipline, resilience, and teamwork. Therefore, we were pleased to support this event as it aligns with our commitment to fostering a love for sports.”
– Su Yen Ng, Business Executive Officer at Milo in Malaysia, explaining to PNA why Milo joined in on the fun
In the younger age category, fathers straddled a careful line of doing what they needed to win but without being overly forceful to the very young players, who were still picking up the game. The same cannot be said of those advanced under-13-year-olds, some of whom hit the ball so hard it was the fathers on the other side of the net that needed protection.
Perhaps the most hotly contested category was the “big kids”division, with pre-tournament favourites Vuntsir and Christian Lee dealing with the pressure and stiff competition to take the crown in a father-son partnership that would be strong enough to do well even in an open competition.
Special word should also be given to Azizal Azhar Bin Ahmad, who was up at the crack of dawn to take part and take gold with his 12-year-old son Dzikri Dzakwan in the Under-13 category, and then came back in the afternoon to win gold with his 18-year-old son Dzarif Dzakwan in the Under-19 category. Clearly, Azizal is building a pickleball dynasty!
Dato Adrian Lim, CEO of Monkey’s Canopy, which is home to Pickle Lah!, is also a huge pickleball enthusiast himself. Stealing moments to come and watch the action, Dato Adrian told us how pleased he was to see this tournament take place at his venue.
“We have built a range of family-centric activities and attractions at Monkey’s Canopy, and pickleball fits into the mix because it truly is a family sport. I am pleased that we could showcase a tournament where gameplay standard was high, yet was built on the premise of bringing families together.”
– Dato Adrian Lim
Pickleball is a unique sport, with participation in tournaments proving to be more popular than in many other participation sports. However, the reality is not all of us can play at an elite level, so organisers who stay creative and find new ways to format competition will appeal to the wider playing public.
We look forward to covering more specialist tournaments like the Milo Father’s Day Pickleball Tournament as they allow people to compete whilst reinforcing the joy of the sport.
