Written by Frank Bonada
The second day of the 2023 IMMAF Asian Championships saw Youth A athletes competing for continental gold medals. Kazakhstan took over Team UAE’s position as the dominant force of the tournament, securing all but his two of the available gold medals.
The obvious standout was Kazakhstan’s new welterweight star, Genghis Nurakmetov, who made a big statement with his defeat of former champion Jasem Abdullah Alhosani (UAE). Displaying formidable takedown defense, Nurakmetov neutralized Alhosani’s wrestling game and delivered a flurry of body strikes, prompting the referee to intervene.
Zamzam Al Hammadi (UAE), who was active at the 2023 IMMAF World Youth Championship, once again showed off his abilities. Known as one of the most powerful submission specialists in the youth scene, Al Hammadi won the gold medal with a perfect performance, using triangles to control his opponent’s position, performing kimuras and forcing taps, all in the first round. obtained.
Hosts Bahrain made history by winning their first youth gold medal in the Youth A bantamweight division with Mahamat Yusuf’s electrifying performance. Yusuf’s victory over Baltanbaatar Uganbaatar (Mongolia) was particularly noteworthy, with a decisive body shot immediately following in the finishing sequence, followed by a rear-naked choke.
Uzbekistan and Lebanon secured the remaining silver medals, while Kuwait made a notable debut in IMMAF Youth, taking bronze. Teams from Mongolia, Palestine and India also made the medal list.
The third day of the 2023 IMMAF Asian Championship will be held on December 13th and will feature the Junior and Senior quarterfinals. There will be a number of returning IMMAF World Champions and Asian Champions, all looking to win gold on Asia’s largest amateur MMA platform. Watch each match live on IMMAF.TV.