Hong Kong’s Tat Fai Yiu waits his turn to compete

Today we reached the quarter-final stages in some divisions with medals now within reach as the tournament narrows down.

One of the big surprises of the day was when defending world champion Patricia Axling (Sweden) went out to Martina Martinelle (Italy) with a clear win going to the Italian athlete. It was a moment to reflect on the unpredictability of sport  – and something which makes muaythai all the more exciting for spectators as every bout really is there to win for both athletes in the ring.

Hungarian Nortbert Speth continued his winning ways, and will now next face defending world champion Dmity Varats (Belarus) in the final at 67kg. Varat’s team-mate Andrei Kulebin also makes the finals, and will face Thai champion Kanom Tantakob in the final on Saturday the 19th.

France, Sweden, Turkey,Ukraine and Russia also qualified fighters for the male divisions, with The World Games medallists Constantino Nanga (Sweden), Ali Dogan (Turkey) and Igor Liubchenko (Ukraine) all qualifying through.

Another stand-out in the women’s divisions was the tight contest between defending champion Turkey’s Behida Tacyildiz and former world champion Russian Anastasia Nepiandi. This could easily have been the final

Tomorrow – the 17th of may – there is no competition as the athletes for the remaining bouts will rest. Anyone who is not fighting will travel to the  beautiful Mayan ruins city of Tulum for a cultural experience.

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