The beautiful city of Jincheon in Korea this week welcomes young martial artists from around the world. The Youth join together in a celebration of martial arts including muaythai.
Eleven muaythai teams have travelled with male and female athletes to the 2017 World Youth Martial Arts Masterships. The Youth will also take part in a UNESCO youth forum on the future they want for sport.
They are supported by IFMA executive board members including general secretary Stephan Fox, and also Mervyn Tan (Singapore) with Shah Dato (Malaysia).
The Opening Ceremony was a spectacular event, and great fun for the young athletes. Each team took centre stage with their flag.
Popular Korean young singers entertained the national teams, and exciting displays from cultural troupes rounded out the event.
The World Martial Arts Masterships Committee have worked diligently on this event for months, and Heo Keon Sik said they are proud now to welcome the Youth to Korea.
The first events take place on Saturday. Muaythai athletes compete in age brackets of 14 to 16, and 16 to 18.
And the athletes will have ample opportunity to make friends and learn about Korean culture as part of the packed activities schedule this week.
Full results can be followed on the 2017 World Youth Martial Arts Masterships website.
Follow IFMA Facebook , IFMA Twitter and IFMA Instagram for updates on the muaythai events.
