Israeli Team Returns Victorious With 4 Medals From International Kickbox Championship

Israeli kickboxer Yulia Sachkov on Saturday won the gold medal at the Kickboxing World Championships held by the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and three other Israelis won silver medals, a cause for optimism as Israelis face the World Games in 2021.

21-year-old Sachkov, a female IDF soldier from Haifa, overpowered a Czech opponent in the finals of the under-52 kilogram (114 pounds) weight class of K-1 style kickboxing.

“This is a dream that came true, everything went perfectly,” she told Israeli reporters after her victory.

Israeli athletes Danielle Peshayev, Shir Cohen and Or Moshe, came home with silver medals.

Pashayev, 18-years-old from Tiberius, participated in the LK style for the under-48 kilogram (106 pounds) weight class. 19-year-old female soldier Shir Cohen, also from Tiberius, fought in the under-52 kilogram in the LK style. Or Moshe, a 19-year-old from Nahariya, competed in the under-67 kilogram (148 pounds) weight class in the K-1 style.

The Israeli team included 13 athletes consisting of nine men and four women.

A total of 745 athletes from 58 countries participated in the Kickboxing World Championships.

Kickboxing operates in Israel as part of “Ayelet”, The Federation of The Non-Olympic Sports in Israel, which assists Israeli athletes with scholarships, equipment, financing for competitions and more.

Eric Kaplan, president of the Ayelet Association, said the achievements at the World Championships are very significant and are cause for optimism.

“This achievement brings great respect to kickboxing, Ayelet and the State of Israel. The results prove that with hard work and an appropriate budget, incredible results can be achieved. There is no doubt that the results give great hope for the World Games which will be held in Birmingham 2021,” he stated.