The East Asian muaythai championships kick off this week in Hong Kong with teams from eight countries already in place. The 2017 Championships was a huge success, and the Hong Kong Muaythai Association is looking to build on that to further develop the sport of muaythai in the region.
This year is the 3rd edition of the championships, and is again supported by the Home Affairs Bureau, in cooperation with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
Teams compete across men and women’s divisions, with athletes from China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, The Philippines and Chinese Taipei taking part. The draw and team managers meeting took place yesterday, with the event taking place at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium.
Also in attendance are observers from the Macau Muaythai Association – Macau hosts the Asian Muaythai Championships in December.
The Hong Kong association recently took part in the successful IFMA Youth World Championships, and in May the Hong Kong team won silver at the senior level World Championships in Mexico.
The head of the Hong Kong MTA said about this year’s EA Championships: “The last Hong Kong athletes achieved excellent results. This year’s Hong Kong team sent 11 elite athletes to pledge to achieve further success. The hard work and dedication of Hong Kong athletes have also seen good results in recent years. We will wait and see that the Hong Kong team can once again exert its strengths and write a page in the history of Hong Kong’s Muay Thai”
This year’s events will be streamed live on OpenSky TV and on the event Facebook which you can find here with more photographs @eamtchampion
Highlights can also be seen on the EAMT Youtube page, with results updated also on the above Facebook page.
