22ndWorld Senior Kickboxing Championship featuring over 800 competitors kicked off on Tuesday in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH’s) capital Sarajevo, World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) stated on its website on Tuesday.
The Championship was officially opened by the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, one of the country’s entities, Fadil Novalic. “We, as a small country, have far more chances in sports and the arts than in other areas to fight with the achievements of the great countries. That is why this event is very important for us,” Novalic said.
At the opening ceremony in “Juan Antonio Samaranch – Zetra“, the biggest hall in Sarajevo, the Vice president of BiH’s Kickboxing Alliance Alija Ogric pointed out on the great privilege and an obligation for BiH for organizing this important event, the biggest one in the history of kickboxing sport in the country.
Competitors from 59 countries will participate at the Championship mainly from Croatia (56), Italy (52) and the United States (47), and will compete in K1, low kick and light contact categories.
During the press conference here on Monday, the selector of BiH’s kickboxing team, Salko Zildzic, stated that they had done everything to prepare the competitors in the best possible way, and that he expects the continuation of good results and medals from previous championships.
BiH kickboxing team has 22 competitors in different categories. For his part, WAKO president Roy Beker pointed out that this championship was especially important because it was the first since kickboxing gained Olympic sports status. The Championship will take place from Oct.22-26. and the organizer of the event is BiH’s Kickboxing Alliance.