The second edition of the event, held at the Thai-Japanese Stadium in the Din Daeng area of the capital between Apr 7-11, saw a healthy turnout of 1,500 athletes and officials from 32 countries. A total of 941 athletes of varying ages and skillsets competed in a range of ring and tatami disciplines, just before Thailand’s Songkran festival.
The team from Phuket, led by Natthakorn Yaemrungruang, President of the Phuket Kickboxing Club, along with members of his coaching staff, brought home an impressive 20-medal haul, including six gold, six silver and eight bronze across disciplines including Point Fighting, Light Contact, and Creative Form.
The gold medals went to the following: Phikhanet Sukhyik (Point Fighting -63 kg); Sasithom Kaewsri (Point Fighting -50 kg); Anusaniya Tantiwacharawarakul (Point Fighting -24 kg); Silawut Chernchom (Light Contact -57 kg); Siriroj Silchaitan (Light Contact -74 kg); and Sirisap Longpimay (K1 Professional Creative Form).
Mr Natthakorn praised the entire team, emphasising that the collective medal haul and team performance demonstrated the continued development of kickboxing athletes from Phuket. Furthermore, he stressed that the team represented the province with style and brought great pride to its residents through their achievements on the international stage.
Continued progress
Thailand, with 378 registered athletes competing, finished top of the overall medal table to claim the title of competition winners, scooping 383 medals (89 gold, 123 silver, 171 bronze). Uzbekistan finished in second place with a 72-medal haul (36 gold, 22 silver, and 14 bronze), while Vietnam took third place with 95 medals overall (32 gold, 33 silver, and 30 bronze).
With an overall 293 female athletes and 648 male athletes involved in the competition the standard across all age and technical categories was extremely high, with participants coming from countries as far and wide as China, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Turkey, Singapore, Malayisa, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Norway, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, Israel, South Africa, the UAE and the UK.
The event was organised by the Kickboxing Association of Thailand (KAT) in partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, and the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO), and was conducted under international standards consistent with sanctioned K-1 rules.
Over five days of competition, athletes competed across multiple weight divisions and disciplines under WAKO rules, providing a platform for international competition and athlete development. The event also enabled Thai athletes to compete alongside leading international fighters, reflecting the continued progress of the sport at the national level.
Taweedech Thong-on, Director of the Events Division at the TAT, said Thailand’s selection as host for a second consecutive year reflects international confidence in the country’s growing capability to stage large-scale global sporting events. He added that the tournament contributes to raising the global profile of kickboxing in Thailand, while supporting youth athlete development and promoting sports tourism through international media exposure.
KAT President Phai Likk said the success of the tournament represents an important step in elevating Thai kickboxing on the international stage. He noted that beyond competition, the event reflects ongoing efforts to strengthen the sport’s development system, from grassroots participation to elite performance, while reinforcing Thailand’s role in the global kickboxing landscape.
Unified framework
Leveraging the success of the event, KAT launched KATPRO Professional Kickboxing, Thailand’s first structured professional kickboxing league, on Apr 11 at the same venue. The inaugural event featured seven bouts with fighters from more than 10 countries and was conducted in line with international professional standards, including official weigh-ins and pre-fight face-offs.
KATPRO Professional Kickboxing strives to integrate sport and entertainment within a unified framework and respresents an important milestone in the development of the sport nationally by elevating competition standards, event management and the commercial value of the sport. Following K-1 rules focusing on speed, precision and technique, it features a professional league structure with international fighters that will create new professional pathways for Thai athletes by strengthening connections to international competition.
The successful staging of both events not only reflects Thailand’s readiness to serve as a hub for global kickboxing competitions, but also underscores a clear development trajectory for the sport –from grassroots and amateur levels toward a more defined professional system, commented Mr Phai.