It was the decisive day for the four best athletes of each category at the Youth World Muaythai Championships 2019 as the competition entered in its semifinal stage.
The bouts have truly been full of skills and focus as every point gained was worth a victory.
Representatives of the motherland got to action with Jantakarn Manoban (THA 16 -17 Female Youth -45kg) is getting to the final and has a chance to win her second gold medal in the Youth World Muaythai Championships. Charlie Louise Pritchard (GBR) was on the way of Jantakarn but their head to head rivalry will move to the senior division as both athletes finish their career as youth.
12 year old Gİzemnur Tatli (TUR 12 -13 Female Youth -32kg) became the first representative of the host country making the finals. Young Gizemnur set an example to her team mates winning the opponent from Russia. It was a great effort from Turkey and motivation for others to push the team to the top of the event ranking. Salih Samet Oruc followed Gizemnur’s example and moved to the final in a bout with the former World Champion Amirkhan Zakriev (RUS).
Sofia Bakhtereva (RUS 16 -17 Female Youth -48kg) compensated for the losses of her team mates and got to her third final in a row. Sofia has two silver medals from 2018 and 2017 and tomorrow she has a chance to finally step higher than the second place of the awarding podium.
Riley Foden (CAN 16 -17 Male Youth -51kg) is one of few youth athletes who tried his luck in the senior world champion at the age of 17 competing in the U23 division. He performed extremely well getting to the semifinal and only lost to the winner of the competition. Riley is getting to the final of the Youth World Muaythai Championships with the experience of the senior tournaments and it will be again Thailand he will meet in his youth final.
The gold medalist of 2018 Youth Worlds Kinga Pietraszak (IRL 14 -15 Female Youth -51kg) is getting close to her second gold winning the Kseniya Mikalayeva (BLR). Ksenia went one division lower trying her luck after her silver in Bangkok but Kinga’s strength and will to win was stronger to let her make the two best athletes of 2019.
Two Dutch little stars are truly flying throught the elimination of there event as Quinty An Klein Gotink (NED 12 -13 Female Youth -46kg) and Cheyenne Aldus (12 -13 Female Youth -42kg) pulled their team to the final of the event. Both athletes are already turning heads showing impressive Muaythai for their age.
The semi final bouts truly proved the status of best youth athletes, and tomorrow spectators will find out the names of the gold and silver medalists in 90 divisions of the Youth World Muaythai Championships 2019.