King Saud University Stadium was filled with the Saudi spirit with fans from all ages cheering their favorite teams.
To set the stage, the first division of the day was the female 45kg division and Hattan Al Saif, brought home the first win for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mabroka Algendy from Egypt took the win in an exciting battle against Chinese Taipei’s Hui Tzu Yeh.
In the 48kg female division Rudzma Abubakar used her long limbs and technical skills to win unanimously against the home team’s Dana Alghussein. Thailand’s Nirawan Tangchio and Ukraine’s Anastasiia Mykhailenko went toe to toe in an exciting battle that could have gone either way with Thailand coming out on top.
In the 51kg female division Monika Chochlikova brought the heat and stopped Austria’s champ, Rebecca Hodl in the third round. Desiree Rovira from Spain took made a clean sweep by points against Saudi Arabia’s Sumayah Aldabbagh.
In the 54kg female division, Mexico’s Laura Burgos gave Megan Washam from Team USA a run for her money in a close battle for a spot in the semi-finals. Poland’s Martyna Kierczynska’s strength and combinations overwhelmed Saudi’s Ghadah Alshehri and stopped her in the first round.
In the male 57kg division, Spain’s Mikel Fernandez stopped Saudi’s Albaraa Alamoudi in the third round to come up on top after a tie on points after the second round. UAE’s Mohamed Touizi edged out Afghanistan’s Sayed Rohullah Mosawi in one of the most exciting fights of the day.
In the 57kg female division Thailand’s Kaewrudee Kamtakra didn’t waste any time stopping the home team’s Raneem Alsharif in the first round. Neutral Athletes’ Maria Klimova edged out Australia’s Bryony Soden to seal her spot in the semi-finals.
In the female 60kg division, Turkey’s Kubra Kocakus stopped Hungary’s Ajsa Sandorfi in the third round while USA’s Tierra Brandt stopped France’s Asia Devismes in the second round.
In the male 63.5kg division. Iran’s Masuod Abdolmalki put on his best performance to take all three rounds against Turkey’s superstar, Sercan Koc.
In the female 63.5kg division Australia’s Zoe Putorak overpowered China’s Ruohan Zhang and Turkey’s Beiha Tacyildiz unanimously won on points against Italy’s Desiree Righi.
In the 67kg male division Thailand’s superstar, Anueng Khattamarasri came out on top in a close decision against Morocco’s superstar, Hamza Rachid.
In the male 71kg division, Thailand’s Thanet Niuotorn took all 3 rounds against Kazakhstan’s Ruslan Zayakin as did AIN’s Konstantin Shakh against France’s Dany Hugues.
In the male 75kg division, Bahrain’s Abdulrahman stopped India’s Jobin Johny in the first round.
In the male 81kg division, Iraq’s Mustafa Al Tekreeti stopped KSA’s Abdulrahman Bajaba in the second round and USA’s Aaron Ortiz took all three rounds against UAE’s Ilyass Hbibali.
In the male 91kg division, AIN’s Gadzhi Medzhidov edged out USA’s Matt Baker in a close decision and Ukraine’s Oleh Pryimachov stopped Morocco’s Othmane Fekaki in the second round.
What an amazing showing of heart and sportsmanship from our beloved athletes.
Good luck to everyone in the second round where some athletes will have a second shot in the medal table of the World Combat Games 2023!
