The Opening Ceremony of '2023 IFMA World Muaythai Championships'

International Federation of Muaythai Associations(President Dr. Sakchye Tapsuwan, IFMA) held the opening ceremony of ‘2023 IFMA Senior World Championships(here-in-after, referred to as World Championships)’ at convention hall of Centralworld in Bangkok, Thailand on the 4th May.

Muaythai and international sports officials attended at the opening ceremony of the World Championships, which began at 6 P.M. on this day, including President Sakchye Tapsuwan, Secretary-General Stephan Fox(President of AIMS, UTS and Vice-President of SportAccord), and Julia Govinden who is CEO of UTS(United Through Sports.) And then, The VIP section consisted of His Serene Highness Prince Nawaphansa Yugala, representatives from over 60 embassies and consulates, the representatives of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand(NOCT), Ministry of Tourism and Sports(MOTS), Sport Authority of Thailand(SAT) and the National Sport Development Fund(NSDF).

In this opening ceremony, the marching parade of athletes from 102 countries, the IFMA neutral athletes including athletes from Russia and Belarus, the IFMA Refugee Team, 'Equipe Muaythai des Refuges(EMR)' and certainly, the largest cheers were reserved for the host nation, Thailand. This World Championship is more meaningful than the existing world championship as it was held in Thailand, the motherland of Muaythai, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of IFMA.

There were also various performances and events that organized the opening ceremony. The Thai national anthem and Muaythai song were played one after another, it reminded to us once again that this World Championship is held in Thailand, the motherland of Muaythai.

The Athletes' Oath was performed by Ms. Hattan Al-Saif(Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Mr. Mohammad Hasan(Equipe Muaythai des Refuges, EMR.) The Officials' Oath was performed by Bogdan Rybka(Poland) and the Coaches' Oath was done by Bonsong Nualyong(Thailand).

President of IFMA, Dr. Sakchye Tapsuwan welcomed the athletes from all 5 continents and showed his pride that after the challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic, IFMA is stronger than ever.

While celebrating this grand opening ceremony of the World Championships in this time by the secretary-general of IFMA, Stephan Fox who is the president of Alliance of Independent Recognized Members of Sports(AIMS), United Through Sports(UTS) and Vice-President of SportAccord, he is trying to bring Muaythai closer to the Olympic Movement as a recognition sports by the International Olympic Committee(President Thomas Bach).

In particular, the event featured a detailed introduction and promotion of the '2023 World Combat Games,' which will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from October 21st to 30th.

After the speech, the spectacular performances that combines Muaythai and Thailand traditional culture were followed.

[Photo News] The participation of athletes from 102 countries, which opened splendidly with colorful lights and characteristic.

From below, the opening ceremony of the '2023 IFMA Senior World Championships' will be presented as a pictorial.

 

[Mookas Media = Bangkok, Thailand - Seok-Mu Mason Kwon ㅣ sukmooi@naver.com]
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