Asian Muay Thai Championships: Philippines Bags Two Golds

I reckon this piece of news shows that it’s not true that Thais cannot be beaten at their own sport of Muay Thai. If you’ve been around Light the Torch long enough, you’d know about how the Philippines have been growing stronger in the field of Martial Arts (Philippines’ Best Hope for an Olympic Gold) and Muay Thai is known to be a hardcore martial art or commonly known as kick-boxing.

According to Wikipedia, Muay Thai (IPA: [/muai32 tʰai32/]; Thai: มวยไทย) also known as Thai Boxing or The Art of the Eight Limbs is the Thai name for a form of hard martial art practiced in several Southeast Asian countries including Thailand. It is known as Pradal Serey in Cambodia, Tomoi in Malaysia, Muay Lao in Laos and as a similar style called Lethwei in Myanmar. The different styles of kickboxing in Southeast Asia are analogous to the different types of Kung Fu in China or Silat in the Malay peninsula. The Thai military uses a modified form of Muay Thai called Lerdrit.

Team Philippines did the country proud when it clinched two gold, one silver and one bronze medals in the recent Asian Muaythai Championships in Bangalore, India.

Youthful Romnick Pabalate, a 19-year old STI scholar from Negros Oriental, outpointed Thai Jakkapol Khamollakhorn in the 48kg division finals to emerge as champion in his first ever international outing.

Philippine Air Force’s pride Anna Joy, a 2005 Southeast Asian Games Arnis gold medalist, duplicated Pabalate’s feat, beating on points another Thai, Molthiro Vattanapackdee, in the 51kg female class of her initial international stint in muaythai.

Playing coach veteran Rodrigo Asiong of Baguio City settled for the silver medal when he bowed on points to Iranian Hossein Rokhneh in the 75kg division after winning halfway through the final four rounder.

Only the fourth member of the squad, sponsored by Philippine Sports Commission and Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT), Eugene Toquero of Cebu City failed to reach the finals as a leg injury forced him to forfeit his semifinal match.

Good News Pilipinas