Muay Thai fighter Nhat through to World Games final
Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat of Vietnam is through to the final of the men's 57kg Muay Thai at the 11th World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, the USA.
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| Nguyễn Trần Duy Nhất of Việt Nam (left) is announced winner of the semi-final match of the men's Muay Thai 57kg category at the 11th World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, the USA on July 17. (Photo: VNS) |
Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat of Vietnam is through to the final of the men's 57kg Muay Thai at the 11th World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, the USA.
The eight-time world champion Nhat defeated Vladyslav Mykytas of Ukraine, with the judges scoring the contest 29-28 in favour of Nhat at Boutwell Auditorium.
The 33-year-old used all his experience to dominate the first two rounds 10-9. Mykytas came back strongly in the third, taking the round 10-9, but it was not enough for him to beat the Vietnamese fighter who moved from his usual 61kg category down to 57kg for the tournament.
"I am lucky to win again. I will try hard in the final," said Nhat.
Nhat will have to beat Almaz Sarsembekov of Kazakhstan to leave with gold. The 26-year-old beat Saif Adden Zakzook of Jordan 29-28 in the other semi-final.
In the quarter-finals, Sarsembekov beat defending champion Phillips Delarmino of the Philippines 30-28, while Nhat overcame three-time world title winner Rui Botelho of Portugal 30-27.
Sarsembekov won a bronze medal at the previous World Games in 2017 in Poland. He is No.1 in this category in the world Muay Thai ranking.
Nhat is the last Vietnamese representative in the ring after his country-fellow Dương Thuy Vi won a wushu gold last week and the others were ousted from billiards, wushu and beach handball.
(Source: VNS)
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