Emirati Muay Thai fighter Iliyas Habibali has welcomed the postponement of the IFMA Muay Thai World Championship in Abu Dhabi amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Abu Dhabi was set to stage the event from June 11 after the International Federation of Muaythai Associations (IFMA) picked the capital ahead of Ankara, Moscow and Bangkok, making it the first city in the Middle East to stage the martial art's World Championship.
However, the decision has been made to postpone the championship due to the Covid-19 outbreak as governments around the world limit global travel and urge people to practice social distancing by remaining at home.
"It is a good move under the prevailing coronavirus situation," Habibali, a gold medallist at the 2018 World Championship in Mexico, told The National.
“We can’t be going into a world championship after training at home. Our preparations have been severely hampered and rescheduling the championship is best for all the good reasons.”
Tareq Al Muhairi, a committee member at IFMA and general secretary of the UAE Muaythai and Kick Boxing Federation, said the new date of the world championship is likely to be at the end of the year.
“A new date will be decided once the IFMA members meet and that will only be when the situation of the Covid-19 is clear,” he said.
“We are looking around October, November or December, but I can’t say for sure. These are very testing times for all sporting activities around the world with events either postponed or cancelled.
“For us, we have to deal with a packed schedule at the end of the year, but are left with no choice.”
The UAE federation, along with the regional federations, had planned an Arab Championship for elite fighters in Bahrain in April, which was to serve as a prep for the World Championship.
“It will also have to be rescheduled,” Al Muhairi said. “We had planned to stage an Arab Junior Championship in July, soon after the World Championship, and that, too, has been postponed indefinitely.”
National team members were to have a camp in Abu Dhabi 10 days ago, but that was called off, with training now confined at homes on the directives of the UAE government’s stay-home order.
“Life itself has come to a standstill and we can’t do anything about it,” Al Muhairi said. “We are trying our best to keep our athletes in good shape during this difficult time. We have one of our technical staff visiting them at their homes.
“We have installed treadmill and cross-fit exercise machines to those who don’t have them at their homes. Our main task is to get them to maintain their weight, and stay safe and stay fit.
“At the moment, we don’t have to worry about the championship itself, now that’s postponed. We will re-group once the situation improves and reschedule the training.”
At the Asian Championship held in Abu Dhabi in December, UAE fighters won two gold medals, three silvers and two bronze in the elite division, and added two golds, four silvers and four bronze in the youth and junior categories.
"All seven of our fighters won a medal each at the Asian Championship but the Worlds is a massive step up in class," said Habibali, who was one of the two Emiratis to win gold at the continental championship.
“To win gold at both the World and Asian Championships, and the UAE to host the Asian Championship and now the World Championship in such a short period of time, is really an incredible achievement.
“My teammates and I are all working hard to take our performances to the next level and achieve the best results at the Worlds. I’m glad the championship is postponed because it really isn’t a good idea to go to a world championship under-prepared.
“It’s not only us but all fighters preparing for it. I’m not sure of their preparations but we are unable to train the way we normally would do.
“However, it’s clear now the championship will take place later in the year, and that provides the technical staff enough time to prepare a new training schedule when the situation improves.
“I would like to participate in a competition or two prior to the Worlds. That will give all of us actual fight scenarios before the Worlds.”