Riyadh 2023 World Combat Games: Day Two Showcases Spectacular Showdowns and Sparks Intense Anticipation Ahead of Day Three

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – October 21st, 2023 – The Riyadh 2023 World Combat Games continued to captivate audiences on its second day, delivering another exhilarating dose of adrenaline-fueled action. Fans were treated to exhilarating finals in Karate, Boxing, and Sambo, while the electrifying competitions of Wrestling and Wushu kicked off, promising even more intense moments to come. The excitement within the host nation continued to build throughout the day as its athletes brought home 10 medals including three gold, five silver and two bronze. The day’s events culminated with HH Fahd bin Jalawi Vice President of the Saudi Olympic Paralympic Committee presenting Saudi athlete Kalthoum Hantoul with her well-earned gold medal in 50 kg Boxing division.

Karate
The Kumite section of Karate continued to captivate audiences with the introduction of its remaining weight classes. Konstantina Chrysopoulou of Greece secured gold in the -61 kg division, while first went to Elina Sieliemienieva of Ukraine in the -68 kg division. The champion of the +68 kg was presented to Milena Jovanovic of Montenegro.

Winners of the male Kumite divisions included -75kg category victor Omer Faruk Yurur of Turkey, while the gold for -84 kg went to Mehdi Sriti of Morocco, and first in the +84 weight class was secured by Sanad Sufyani of Saudi Arabia.

Boxing
Known to test it’s athletes’ reflexes and speed as well as physical and mental strength, today’s Boxing matches featured female finalists within the 50 kg, 54 kg, and 60 kg weight divisions, as well as men’s weight classes of 51 kg, 63.5 kg, 71 kg, 80 kg, and +92 kg.

Winners in the female 50kg class included the host nation’s Kalthoum Hantoul taking the gold, Haya Ali Al of the UAE securing silver and Fudha Alasfour of Kuwait finishing with bronze. Women’s 54 kg saw Maryam Khamis of Brunei take first, while second went to Saudi Arabian athlete Hala Alrashidi and third was received by Asmaa Alqabandi of Kuwait. In the 60kg women’s category Noura Almutairi of Kuwait finished with gold, Dana Hashim Al-Jabor of Qatar with silver and Hadeel Ashour of Saudi Arabia taking bronze.

In the men’s 51 kg class, first was awarded to Azat Makhmetov of Brunei, second to Mansour Khalifah of Kuwait and third to third to Mohammed Zaybi of Saudi Arabia. The men’s 63.5 kg division saw Amer Alsuwaider of the UAE with a gold medal finish, while silver was awarded to Thamer Almatrafi of Saudi Arabia, and Omar Ahmad of Kuwait accepted third.

The men’s 71 kg division saw first secured by Hassan Kaabi of Saudi Arabi and second received by Turki Hamad Alkhalifa of Brunei. In the men’s 80 kg,  Yousif Hussain of Kuwait placed first, Mohammed Alsubhi of Saudi Arabia secured second, and Ali Jaafar of Brunei took third. In the men’s +92 kg division, Dania Latypov of Brunei placed first, Sultan Almusaed of Saudi Arabia took second and third was awarded to Abdualziz Alshammar of Kuwait.

Wushu
The ancient sport of Wuhshu, also known as Kung Fu, featured in today’s events and included its Taolu disciplines.

The men’s Taolu Changquan winner was Bijay Sinjali with a score of 9.71 while first in the men’s Taolu Daoshu and Gu saw Zhaohua Wu of China secure first with 9.803. The winner of the men’s Taolu Nanquan and Nangun winner was Chang Min Liu of China with 9.743. The men’s Taolu Taijiquan and Taijijian winner was Hyeongi An of Korea with a final score of 9.73.

The women’s champion of Taolu Changquan was Ziwen Wang with a score of 9.76. First place in the women’s Taolu Jianshu and Qiangshu division went to to Yi Li of Macao with a score of 9.753. The women’s Taolu Nanquan and Nandao victor was Cheong Min Tan of Malaysia with a final score of 9.74. the Taolu Taijiquan and Taijijian division winner was Shuting Hu of China with a score of 9.763.

Sumo
Known to enrich the soul, mind and body, the competitive contact sport of Sumo saw a rousing display from its 40 male and 40 female competitors as they vied for victory today within the esteemed Dohyō.

In the men’s lightweight category, Sviatoslav Semykras of Ukraine took the gold while fellow Ukranian Demid Karachenko took silver. Third place was awarded to Tomohisa Oku of Japan.

In the men’s middleweight, Vazha Daiauri of Ukraine took first, while second was secured by Badral Baasandorj of Mongolia and Poland’s Aron Rozum took third. In the men’s heavyweight division, Lasha Jeladze of Georgie took first, while Oleksandr Veresiuk of Ukraine came second and Brazil’s Rui Aparecido De Sa Junior finished third.

Within the female lightweight category, Olena Nikitinska of Ukraine finished first, while fellow Ukranian Alina Duzhenko placed second, and Nene Yamashita of Japan took third. Within the female middleweight category, Karyna Kolesnik of Ukraine took the gold, Luciana Montgomery took silver, and Rio Hasegawa of Japan took third. In the women’s heavyweight division, Ivanna Berezovksa of Ukraine placed first, Kellyann Ball of the United States took second, and Airi Hisano of Japan came third.


Sambo

Sambo took its unique combination of wrestling and self-defence techniques to its mixed team events today. Beginning with eight groups, representing Europe, Pan America, Asia Oceania, Africa and a Wild Card, the championship event saw Europe 1 claim gold against Asia Oceania 2 in a conclusive showdown.

Tomorrow’s lineup will include the Wushu finals at 10 am and 4 pm in KSU 4.  Sumo’s final day of events will close with athletes competing in the open weight category. Fans who wish to catch the competition online can visit the Riyadh 2023 World Combat Games’ official website, where each event will be live-streamed.

About the Riyadh 2023 World Combat Games:

This year marks a significant milestone for Saudi Arabia as Riyadh proudly becomes the first Middle Eastern city to host the World Combat Games. The programme for this year’s Games encompasses 16 combat sports and martial arts disciplines, including Aikido, Armwrestling, Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Ju-Jitsu, Karate, Kendo, Kickboxing, Muaythai, Sambo, Savate, Sumo, Taekwondo, Wrestling, and Wushu.