Muhammad Aiman Hafizi Ahmad was part of a team competing in the popular PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), which pits participants against each other in a virtual fight to the death.

But when they won the chance to take part in two tournaments in China last year, the 20-year-old had to skip them – he could not travel overseas as he was officially stateless.

Aiman was born in Malaysia to an Indonesian mother and adopted by a local couple in Taiping, but he had never been recognised as a Malaysian citizen and could not get a passport.

He had applied to become Malaysian years earlier and was refused. But after being forced to miss the tournaments, he renewed his efforts by launching a widely publicised legal battle.

Authorities then decided to grant him citizenship, making the court fight unnecessary.

“I have waited to get this certificate of citizenship for eight years,” a delighted Aiman said yesterday here, clutching the document.

With the legal battle behind him, Aiman said he looked forward to “resuming playing in the competitive scene”.

While travel overseas for competitions looks unlikely in the near future due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the decision nevertheless opens the door for Aiman to develop his career in the booming e-sports scene.

Aiman got into gaming by playing on his phone, and then discovered PUBG.

Aiman then started playing in PUBG competitions and joined a team, and hones his skills by practising four to five hours a day.

And he is hopeful for a bright future in e-sports.

“I want to make my family proud and my country too,” he said. “That is my dream.”