Bahrain triumph at Asian MMA championship

Bahrain has achieved a new accomplishment in the 2nd Asian Amateur MMA Championship which took place on May 2-4 at the Ambassador Hotel in the Thai capital Bangkok. Organised by the IMMAF-WMMAA, the Kingdom’s fighters won 13 medals in the event, including five golds, one silver and seven bronzes. Bahrain’s gold medals were won by Magomed Gadzhiiasulov (Male Light Heavyweight 93 kg), Shamil Gaziev (Male Heavyweight 120.2 kg), Pasha Kharkhachaev (Male Super Heavyweight 136 kg), Mansur Magomedov (Male Flyweight 56.7 kg), Shamil Gimbatov (Male Lightweight 70.3 kg).

Ramazan Gitinov (Male Middleweight 83.9 kg) gave Bahrain the only silver, while Brandon Tang (Malaysia) and Isa Aldoy (Male Strawweight 52.2 kg), Mohamed Almuamari (Male Flyweight 56.7 kg), Magomed Idrisov and Ali Yaqoob (Male Bantamweight 61.2 kg), Yousif Sayyar (Male Lightweight 70.3 kg) and Abbas Khan (Male Welterweight 77.1 kg) all took the bronze. On this occasion, HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and President of Bahrain Olympic Committee expressed pride at this unique result scored by Bahrain’s national MMA team at the Asian level, attributing it to the support and sponsorship extended to this sport by HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the follow up of HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of HM the King for Charity and Youth Affairs and President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports.

“This extraordinary accomplishment cements our efforts to achieve the vision we have drawn up for the Bahraini MMA sport at the continental and international levels. This achievement hasn’t come out of the blue, it arrived thanks to the efforts we exerted to this point,” HH Shaikh Khalid said. He praised the performances displayed by the Bahrain fighters throughout the event. “We are looking forward for similar achievements in the MMA sport, especially in the 6th Amateur MMA World Championships,” he said, praising the efforts of Bahrain MMA Federation under the chairmanship of Khalid Abdulaziz Al Khayyat to to prepare the Bahraini fighters ahead of their participation in the event,” Bahrain Mixed Martial Arts Federation president Khalid Al Khayyat, along with Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) sports federations affairs director Hisham Al Baloshi and mixed martial arts director Mohammed Qamber were among top officials in the reception of team members on arrival at Bahrain International Airport yesterday.

In his statement, Al Baloshi conveyed the congratulations of BOC secretary general Mohammed Al Nusuf to the team and commended their results at the event. Al Baloshi also noted the efforts of Al Khayyat and the board of directors, which played a major part in this resounding achievement at one of the continent’s most prominent mixed martial arts events. Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) secretary general Mohammed Al Nusuf extended his congratulations to the country’s leadership on the result. Al Nusuf praised the performances of the Bahrain team members throughout the event and expressed pride at this unique result.