Eldar Eldarov, Pasha Kharkhachaev, Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa (©Brave Combat Federation)

Team Bahrain made history at the IMMAF-WMMAA Asian Open, which took place in Bangkok, Thailand on May 2-4, 2019. The delegation achieved a new high of 13 medals, with five golds, one silver and seven bronzes.

His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, was on sight with Team Bahrain, as he helped with the preparation of the local fighters as they faced the cream of the crop of Asian MMA. His Highness congratulated His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, and HH Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa on this unprecedented achievement.

HH Shaikh Khalid expressed pride at this unique result scored by Bahrain’s national MMA team at the Asian level, attributing it to the support and sponsorship extended to this sport by HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the follow up of HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

“This extraordinary accomplishment cements our efforts to achieve the vision we have drawn up for the Bahraini MMA sport at the continental and international levels. This achievement hasn’t come out of the blue, it arrived thanks to the efforts we exerted to this point,” he said.

Aside from that, His Highness Sheikh Khalid also praised the individual performances by Bahraini fighters, which led to the amazing return of 13 medals at the Asian level, cementing Bahrain as a world force in the MMA scenario.

“We are looking forward to similar achievements in the MMA sport, especially in the 6th Amateur MMA World Championships,” he said, paying special attention to the efforts of Bahrain MMA Federation under the chairmanship of HE Mr. Khalid Abdulaziz Al Khayyat.

List of Bahraini medalists:

Strawweight:

• Bronze – Isa Aldoy

Flyweight:

• Gold – Mansur Magomedov
• Bronze – Mohammed Almuamari

Bantamweight:

• Bronze – Magomed Idrisov, Ali Yaqoob

Lightweight:

• Gold – Shamil Gimbatov
• Bronze – Yousif Sayyar

Welterweight:

• Bronze – Abbas Khan

Middleweight:

• Silver – Ramazan Gitinov
• Bronze – Abdulrahman Alhasan

Light Heavyweight:

• Gold – Magomed Gadzhiiasulov

Heavyweight:

• Gold – Shamil Gaziev

Super Heavyweight:

• Gold – Pasha Kharkhachaev