Our athletes from the Youth B category took to the ring from 10am until 5pm to earn their chance at stardom.
A further 26 medals were handed out during today’s proceedings. Ukraine reached the podium most frequently with six medals won, followed by Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and England with three medals each.
The USA were joined by Angola and Poland with two medals each, with Ireland, Armenia, Bulgaria, Serbia and the UAE all adding a medal to their tallies.
Boys
Uzbekistan’s Shokboz Adbukhakimov kicked off the day’s finals with a win over Tajikistan athlete Haidarjon Quarabekov via leg lock to win gold in the 44kg division. Adbukhakimov saw off Ukraine’s Nikita Artemonko in the semi-final who won bronze alongside Team England prodigy Ceejay Fenton.
Behruz Rustamov continued Uzbekistan’s winning start to the day by beating Ukrainian fighter Andrii Taran by split decision in the 52kg division final. Yosin Nurmakhmatov earned Tajikistan a bronze medal alongside Cláudio Fontoura who was cheered on raucously by the Angolan supporters.
Daniil Besarb turned his compatriot’s silver in the 52kg division, into a gold for the 62kg division by earning a unanimous victory over Polish fighter Dominik Sitko in the penultimate fight of the evening. Team Armenia continued to raise their stock as Davit Sevlikyan earned himself and his country a bronze medal alongside Uzbekistan Isobek Bakhriddinov.
To end the evening with a bang, Team England’s Regan O Brien Bellamy won gold via split decision against Tajikistan’s Yoqub Iskandarzoda, to mark his debut in the IMMAF Youth World Championships. Martin Stoilov made his mark on the tournament by claiming bronze for Bulgaria alongside Serbia’s Mateja Daserovic to wrap up the 72kg division.
Girls
Ghala Al Hammadi got the womens section off to a perfect start to the host nation UAE by claiming a deserved victory over Ireland’s Emily Hannick via unanimous decision in the 44kg weight category. Angolan Stelvia Muhanha added second medal of the evening to her nations tally, with USA fighter Michelle Rialmo joining her in third place.
England’s Jasmine Tyson was narrowly beaten to gold by Ukraine’s Polina Kovyrnova in the 52kg division final but finished ahead of Kovyrnova’s third placed teammate, Kira Hordieieva.
Poland’s Julia Lewandowska claimed the gold for the girls 67kg bracket by claiming two wins from her two group stage games. She pipped Briana Sanchez of Team USA to the top spot, whereas Karolina Hryniuk of Ukraine was forced to settle for bronze.
After another fantastic set of fights, we will return to the Mubadala Arena tomorrow morning to finalise the Youth B category before moving on to the Youth A fights on Friday.
