On June 7, 2006, the Thai Boxing World Championship ended in Thailand, in which 70 countries took part, sending about 500 boxers to Bangkok. For the first time in the history of Thai boxing, two boxers from the Emirates participated in the competition: Najmeddin Al Hadad and Aymen Ben Ali. Both athletes live in Dubai and train at the Martial Arts Academy.
Immediately before the Championship, the "Combat Academy" organized for its fighters training camp, which took place in the capital of Thailand, Bangkok. For a month, boxers trained in the Rompo Mansion gym under the supervision of Thai trainers. However, the Dubai athletes lost in preliminary battles to their rivals. The lack of fighting experience has affected, since today in the Emirates regular tournaments in this sport are not yet held. For comparison: athletes from other countries before going to the World Cup go through a series of qualifying fights and championships of their countries. Be that as it may, the Dubai boxers, with the help of the Martial Arts Academy, tested their strength in world-class competitions. The start of the visits of Arab boxers to the World Championships in Thailand has already been made, and at present, the selection of athletes who will represent the country in international rings is being carried out on the basis of the branch of the "Martial Arts Academy", which is located in the sports complex Etisalat Academy.
Preparations for the next world championship are underway now. The 2006 World Cup was organized by the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur. Led by the tireless Stefan Fox, IFMA currently coordinates the activities of Thai Boxing Federations around the world. Thanks to the efforts of this organization, Thai boxing was included in the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), as a full member with the right to vote. This is the first serious step on the path of "olympization" of this sport and its first worldwide recognition. Due to the fact that IFMA management is making every effort to include Thai boxing in the list of Olympic sports, this year's World Championships were attended by experts from the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Athletes who took first places in the Championship were subjected to spot testing. Heavyweight from Russia, Alexander Ustinov, was invited to the doping center immediately after the final fight. An express analysis did not reveal any signs of the use of any drugs in the Russian giant (Alexander's height is 2 meters, weight -135 kg). The team from Russia, represented mainly by pupils of the Kemerovo Thai boxing school, took the first team place in the Championship. Second and third places - in the teams of Thailand and Ukraine, respectively. In addition to the fights themselves, which took place simultaneously in three rings during the week, the program included demonstrational children's performances, a demonstration of the technical arsenal of Thai boxing by students of the Thai Boxing Institute, and traditional Thai dances. Also during the gala dinner, the battle for the WMC World Champion title was held in the weight category up to 70 kg.
The largest World Championship in the history of Thai national martial arts, which was another step towards the inclusion of Thai boxing in the Olympic Games, is behind. The trip of the team from the United Arab Emirates to the World Cup was made possible thanks to the personal financial support of the chairman of Danik Group (www.danik.ae) - Alibek Issaev. The UAE team outfit was sponsored by the large Dubai real estate agency Creative Concepts Real Estate (www.crecons.com). It is difficult to assess the experience that athletes, coaches and managers of the "Combat Academy" received in these competitions.
The leaders of the Dubai Club received official appointments in the Thai Boxing Federation of Arab countries: Muhammad Abbas was elected to the Federation’s board, and Vladimir Burdun was appointed international coordinator. The "Martial Arts Academy" has signed management agreements with a number of professional boxers living and training in Bangkok, among them: Magomed Magomedov, Arslan Magomedov, Ramazan Ramazanov, Malik Gadzhiev, Jabar Askerov. The Dubai club will act as an agent for promoters and matchmakers and seek the most profitable contracts for these athletes.
A television program is being prepared for release, in which training frames for boxers, fragments of fights, interviews with athletes and the owner of the Martial Arts Academy, Vladimir Burdun, will be shown. Presumably, the program will air on August 1, 2006 on the Dubai sports channel Dubai Sport TV. The release date of the program will be specified on the website www.fightacademy.ae
Stanislav Bukhlov. Especially for the "Russian Emirates"
