Team Bagsik braces for World tilt in Thailand

Since their triumphant campaign in the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, Filipino muay thai fighters have not returned to full-scale combat in the international scene.

Their pent-up energy will be finally released when Team Bagsik—as what the national muay team is also called—goes to battle in the International Federation of Muaythai Associations (IFMA) World Championships in Phuket, Thailand, two months from now.

“We plan to send a full team. This is the first time that we will participate in a full-contact competition since the SEA Games in 2019,’’ said Muaythai Association of the Philippines (MAP) secretary general Pearl Managuelod.

To be able to fully prepare for the World Championship, the pool from which members of Team Bagsik will come from got clearance from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to set up a bubble-type training camp at high-altitude Benguet State University.

Warmed up

The squad has already warmed up for the Phuket event, as the MAP collected 15 gold medals, 11 silvers and 16 bronzes to bag the overall championship title of the 2021 IFMA Virtual Championships hosted by Thailand last weekend.

“Team Bagsik is very excited to compete in the coming world championships. [The members] have been training hard since May,’’ said Managuelod, also a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee executive board.

Team Philippines won three gold, four silver and two bronze medals in the muay competitions of the 2019 SEA Games held at Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

“We are targeting to bring 13 athletes to the world champs, but they will still undergo a strict selection process,’’ added Managuelod. INQ