Kao Loi Thai Boxing

Jak, Sarah, and Josh flew out to the Championships on March 9th and began 1st days training on the 11th.  They found that their weights had altered slightly with Josh slightly overweight and Jak slightly under.  However all their pre tournament hot weather training had paid off as they found no ill effects due to the climate.  In fact while some struggled with the change in temperature our fighters felt as if it helped their performance.

Josh, due to his higher weight, had to move up a weight category to -75kg. Jak weighed in -81kg, and Sarah -48kg.

The draw was eagerly anticipated, and saw our guys draw Korean, Ukrainian, and a Bulgarian.

Both lads were automatically in semi-finals and Josh fought first against the Korean.  Josh put in his best performance to date and scored well throughout with aggressive punches (left cross, right uppercut) and excellent left kick and knee, also catching and sweeping his opponent a number of times.  An excellent win for Josh, but one which left his leg badly damaged so he could not progress to the final.

Jak then fought against a vastly more experienced opponent from Ukraine.  Jak's goals were to perform in ways which gave him the best chance of victory and this he did by putting in a performance which was aggressive throughout and of a higher level to that in training.  It was the equivalent of a personal best at an athletics championships.  The decision went to the Ukranian due to a really good second round where Jak had his leg caught and swept 4-5 times, but the outcome takes nothing away from Jak's experience which was entirely positive.

Sarah then fought the current World Champion and a veteran of 40+ fights.  Due to the small number of entries this fight was the final.  This did not overawe Sarah who said she felt calm going in.  In the first round the Bulgarian landed several teeps to the face which pushed Sarah momentarily off her game plan.  However she did not have it all her own way with Sarah attacking successfully on a number of occasions.  The second round was a much closer affair with Sarah beginning to find her range.  The third, however, saw the Kao Loi fighter take the fight to the Bulgarian relentlessly attacking throughout.  The decision went the way of the Bulgarian but a career best performance from Sarah.

Our guys have all put in their best fights yet, and this is a great achievement for young inexperienced fighters at their first major championships, in a foreign country with a hot climate, without their usual corner teams.  A credit to Kao Loi Thai Boxing Club!

Well done guys!