2003 IFMA, FAMA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ALMATY KAZAKHSTAN

 

A great achievement of IFMA, FAMA, and the Kazakhstan Muaythai Federation was through the recent World Muaythai Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Eight hectic days of competition came to a close. The 2003 World Cup can only be described as a great success. In total, the city of Almaty welcomed 50 countries with over 600 boxers – male, female and juniors –coaches, officials, referees, and many more.

A special chartered plane was sent to Bangkok to pick up the participants of the Asian countries. The event was setup in cooperation of the Kazakhstan Government (the President of MUAYTHAI in Kazakhstan is the Deputy Prime Minister). The Sport Palace was packed to its capacity with the crowd estimated 3,000 people each day. The atmosphere in the stadium was simply electrifying with the excitement rising to a crescendo when a Kazak boy stepped in the ring.

The outcome was amazing and would be incomparable to any amateur event even in Thailand. The beauty of this Championship was that the enthusiastic crowd supported every team, and even when Kazakhstan lost, they loudly applauded the victorious boxer.

The event received huge media coverage in the country with the Opening and Closing Ceremonies fully televised. There were live radio and TV interviews with the boxers. Many viewers called in to say how impressed they were with the level of sportsmanship shown by all boxers and coaches.

The boxers were divided into 4 categories: Junior, A, B and Female. The Female division saw some great performances with the Australian team, which received the Best Team title at the end. A special moment was when HE General Pichitr’s wife presented orchids to all female boxers which were specially flown in.

In the men’s competitions, many of the fights were decided in the early stages as the luck of the draw brought the stronger countries together early on- but that’s the beauty of Knock-Out competitions as you never know what would happen next.

The final day, saw Russia, Kazakhstan, Australian, New Zealand, certainly Thailand, Canada, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Uzbekistan, and Moldova all competing to add up the points for Team Trophy.

His Excellency, General Pichitr traveled from Thailand to represent the Kingdom in the Closing Ceremony accompanied by the President of the Kazakhstan Olympic Committee.

The boxers from Kazakhstan put on the fight of their lives as the screaming fans urged them on. They snatched the overall competition narrowly from a cluster of Thailand, Ukraine and Australia. The title of the Best Boxer also went to a Kazak boxer.

Many activities were conducted along the Championship period including and election of a new FAMA and IFMA President went to Dr. Sakchye Tapsuwan.

Other trophies were given to:
Best Wai Kru >> Thailand
Most Improved team >> Iran
Team with most potential >> Ukraine
Best Team Spirit >> Australia

The next championship, in 2004, will take place in Thailand and shall be the biggest one ever staged.

On behalf of the IFMA, FAMA, and President Dr. Sakchye, we would like to heartily congratulate Kazakhstan on this amazing event.