Mayo kickboxing club claims five national titles

Nine students from Claremorris Ultimate Kickboxing Club travelled to Limerick recently to compete alongside nearly 200 of Ireland’s up and coming athletes in the W.K.O. Ireland National Low-Kick Championships.

It was the first time the Claremorris club ever entered a low-kick championship (low-kick meaning opponents can kick below the waist to the inside or outside of the leg), but still returned hom with five national titles.

First to take gold for Claremorris was nine-year-old Hnat Dmyterchuk. Hnat had two very exciting bouts to make it into the final, while the last bout was very evenly matched. Both young athletes gave it their all, with Hnat getting the nod from the judges and becoming the first ever Claremorris kickboxer to win a low-kick title for his club.

Madalin Lazer was next to take gold. Madalin was in top form and seemed to be on a different level to his three opponents. His speed and accuracy was just too much for anyone to handle. It came as no surprise to see Madalin’s hand raised as champion of Ireland.

Alex Halligan was Claremorris's only senior fighter to compete on the day. A very experienced kickboxer, this was still his first ever time fighting in a low-kick tournament. Alex kept the same game plan for both his bouts, keeping his distance and collecting his points with very clean and accurate head kicks. He took a very powerful low kick in the final round in the final that nearly ended the fight, but managed to compose himself and stay out of trouble until the final bell. At the end of the fight, another Claremorris hand had been raised as champion.

Ionut Acatincai (16) entered into the super heavyweight category. Ionut's speed and power proved too much for his first opponent as he won by stoppage in the first round. In his second fight he was using a sweep kick to perfection, taking his opponent off his feet five times.

Two wins and Ionut was in the final. He was well up on points going into the last round of the final, but with a fantastic round from his Carlow opponent, Ionut let his lead slip. The fight was called a draw, which meant an extra round was added.

It was looking like a very fatigued Claremorris kickboxer was going to have to settle for silver. However, out of nowhere, Ionut got his second wind and with deafening roars from the huge crowd, he managed to pull back a lead and be crowned W.K.O. national champion.

Ionut also received a walkover in the full contact, which he had entered, meaning he was crowned double low-kick champion of Ireland.

Emmanuel Apaw, Jamie Monaghan Mellett, Misha Hryhoriev, Arturas Skuodas and Mihai Jirebie also represented their Claremorris club to the highest standard. Emmanuel had two fantastic fights but had to settle for a silver and a second place on the podium, while Misha just missed out on a podium spot after having three very close fights.

Coaches Phelim Halligan and Konstantin Kuzmin were very happy with the success of their students. “As a small club in the west of Ireland making their debut to low-kick kickboxing, we are absolutely delighted with our student’s performances,” said Phelim following the tournament on September 6 last.