One gold medal, two silver, and four bronze medals have been won by Moldovan athletes who participated in the Junior World Muaythai Championship. The competition took place on August 2-10, in Thailand, Bangkok. Moldova ended up 11th out of 86 countries in the final team ranking.
In a press conference at IPN, National Muaythai Federation president Artur Grosu stated that there is a debutant among the winning athletes – Vladimir Ogorodnicov, who has managed to win gold. Athletes David Chiperi, who is a second-time contestant, and Marius Covali who has participated for the third time, have won silver medals, as in previous years. Gheorghe Pleșca, Liviu Titică, Igor Duca, and Andrei Avramov, one of the youngest members of the team, have brought home the bronze. Artur Grosu thanked the support and effort put in by trainers, parents, and last, but not least, the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Research, and the FEA Association, whose president is Dorin Damir. Furthermore, he congratulated the athletes for their performances and for their work in making Moldova internationally famous.
National Muaythai Federation vice president, trainer Andrei Grosu, mentioned that Moldova has been represented by 12 athletes and four trainers. According to him, this is the largest representative lot from our country to have attended such a competition, and the results, therefore, are proportionately high. Andrei Grosu added that trainers always have high expectations of their disciples, yet with the tough competition in this event the results are more than good. For example, the Russian Federation, or Australia, had delegations of about 100 persons, with at least one athlete per weight and gender category.
Coach Vladimir Dima said the athletes have performed very well, have fought and proven that they are not weaker, in spite of poorer training conditions. In states like the Russian Federation, this sport receives a lot of investments and, therefore, they always send lots of 50 to 100 people to championships. The trainer thanked the Federation for its involvement, including the funding provided, in helping the athletes present themselves as a genuine team.
Coach Vladislav Belinschi mentioned that they have undergone a heavy training month prior to the championship. The fights were difficult, yet the Moldovan athletes have returned without injuries, which is a testimony to the quality of the fights. He added that the athletes have performed very well, and have proven a lot of courage, having felt support from home, through social networks.
The athletes thanked their parents and coaches for support. They have stated their desire to progress further in their sport and achieve higher results in future championships.
