The Australian team has got off to a dream start at the IMMAF World Senior and Junior Championships, which are taking place in Abu Dhabi this week.
Australia is represented by a strong nine-athlete contingent and Cooper Royal had the honour of getting the event underway for the Aussies on Monday.
Queensland-based Royal, came up against Portuguese Iuri Rodrigues in the men’s bantamweight division. Royal earned his way to the round of 16, with a shut-out 30-27 unanimous decision victory, and will face Shamil Alikhanov from Bahrain in his next outing.
Next was 24-year-old Daniel Mitchell who in the men’s featherweight division, overcame Lenin Prakash from India. The judge’s scorecards were 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27 as he moves on to meet Bekzat Zhassiya from Kazakhstan.
Youngster Kyle Mayocchi wrapped the day up as he edged Amirdin Akbarov from Tajikistan by split points decision. The 18-year-old moves on to meet Behruz Khurshedzoda in the next round who will be fresh after getting a bye in the opening round.
For New Zealand, Oliver Schmid progressed to the next round of the lightweight division as his opponent, Tobias Soderberg, failed his weigh-in. Ferguson Jackson looked impressive as he submitted his English opponent with a first-round rear-naked choke submission however Rory O’Keefe was eliminated, losing a unanimous decision.
Competing on Tuesday will be the following
Australia:
- Round of 16 (Men’s strawweight) – Troy Fumo vs. Ali Kadhim Al Mayahi (Iraq)
- Round of 16 (Women’s bantamweight) – Faine Mesquita vs. Raiana Vinuto Guimaraes (Bahrain)
- Round of 16 (Men’s lightweight) – Jordan Thomas vs. Daniel Schordje (Austria)
- Round of 16 (Men’s light-heavyweight) – Patrick Best vs. Vincent Koenig (Austria)
- Round of 16 (Men’s light-heavyweight) – Auryn Parmley vs. Timon Huss (Germany)
- Round of 16 (Men’s bantamweight) – Cooper Royal vs. Shamil Alikhanov (Bahrain)
- Round of 16 (Men’s featherweight) – Daniel Mitchell vs. Bekzat Zhassiya (Kazakhstan)
- Round of 16 (Men’s junior lightweight) – Kyle Mayocchi vs. Behruz Khurshedzoda (Tajikistan)
New Zealand:
- Round of 16 (Men’s heavyweight) – Abraham Paku vs. Aiham Ayad Mahmood Alrawi (Iraq)
- Round of 16 (Men’s heavyweight) – Alexander Lutu vs. Nell Ariano (France)
- Round of 16 (Men’s middleweight) – Fergus Jenkins vs. Hazem Kayyali (Jordan)
- Round of 16 (Men’s lightweight) – Oliver Schmid vs. Julian Schlouch (French Polynesia)
The World Championships are being held from the 24th to the 29th of January, and an impressive 421 competitors from 56 participating countries are set to compete during the week.
