Thousands of anglers from China will have to be turned down from taking part in the inaugural Kenyir Cup fishing competition in Tasik Kenyir early next month.

With total entries limited to 300, only 150 China anglers will be allowed in the contest, jointly organised by the state government and the Terengganu chapter of Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta).

Organising committee spokesperson Esmadee Endut said the other 150 places in the tournament had to be allocated to local anglers who had shown keen interest in pitting their fishing skills.

"The competition has received overwhelming response from fishing enthusiasts from all over China and Hong Kong, with quite a number of the fishing clubs there submitting more than 300 entries each.

"We wish we could accommodate everyone for the contest, but we have to pick and choose due to logistics constraints and limited facilities at Southeast Asia's largest man-made lake."