MMA – Bahrain’s youth mixed martial arts (MMA) national team are set to go for gold in the sixth edition of the IMMAF Youth World Championships 2025, which get underway today in Al Ain, the UAE, for the very first time.
The kingdom’s delegation is headed by Bahrain MMA Federation (BMMAF) president Mohammed Qambar and it features 13 athletes, according to the Bahrain Combat Sports Council.
They are amongst a field of more than 1,000 fighters, both boys and girls, representing 60 countries from around the world. They will be taking to the cage across four age divisions, namely Youth A (16 and 17 years old), Youth B (14 and 15), Youth C (12 and 13), and Youth D (10 and 11).
Bahrain’s Youth A participants include Saood Salman in the strawweight 52.2kg category; Aseel Almutawa and Hamad Mohseni in the flyweight 56.7kg; and Abdulla Qahtan in the featherweight 65.8kg.
In Youth B are Hamad Almehri in the 40kg category, Sayed Alawi Abdulla in the 44kg, Shawqi Alsada in the 48kg, and Yousuf Mercer in the 52kg.
Bahrain’s Youth C fighters are Ali Baqlawa in the 31kg class and Abdulla Hussain and Rashed Alsaleh in the 40kg; while in Youth D are Mohammad Abubaqr in the 37kg and Jassim Abubaqrin the 34kg division.
The young MMA fighters are coached by Renat Iusubov and Sharap Gitinov, while the national team administrator is Ebrahim Aun.
Qambar expressed his pride in the Bahrainis’ participation, which comes within the framework of the BMMAF’s strategy to develop the kingdom’s youth MMA community and provide them with international experience through exposure against some of the best in their age group.
He noted that the Bahrainis have been preparing for this prestigious International MMA Federation (IMMAF) event for a significant period and that they aspire to perform at an impressive level to compete for top positions. Qambar also asserted his confidence in their abilities to represent the kingdom well and raise the Bahrain flag high in the competition.
The IMMAF Youth World Championships 2025 is being held under the patronage of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Abu Dhabi Executive Council chairman Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It will continue until July 27.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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