The GAMMA Asian Championship 2026 in Malaysia opened its first day of competition in the junior and youth categories, with the Thailand Mixed Martial Arts Association (TAMMA) sending 11 members of the Thai national team to compete, gaining experience and developing their potential.
In the results from the first day, the Thai contingent secured 1 silver medal and 5 bronze medals, with 4 Thai athletes advancing to the finals to compete for gold: Meedi Boonprawet (girls' U-18, 56.7 kg), Thanakorn Srimoon (U-18, up to 52.2 kg), Watcharat Changpan (U-18, up to 56.7 kg), and Worawasu Tirapornachai (boys' U-14, 62 kg).
At the same time, this competition marks another significant milestone for Thai mixed martial arts on the international stage, as Dr. Sirichet Pooltippayanon, President of the Thailand Mixed Martial Arts Association, was elected to serve as the 1st Vice President of the Asian MMA Confederation at the organization's most recent general assembly. This reflects the trust placed in him by members across Asia and Thailand's growing role in helping to shape the direction of MMA development in the region.
Dr. Sirichet stated: "I would like to thank all member nations of the Asian MMA Confederation for their trust in electing me to serve as Vice President of the Asian federation. It is a responsibility to work together to build a stronger future for MMA in Asia, with the goal of pushing it into the Olympics in the near future.
"What I place great importance on is building an athlete development ecosystem starting from the junior and youth levels — safe, with a clear development pathway, with standards, and able to grow from the national level to the continental level, as well as further extending to GAMMA's international competition platforms. I would like to thank the hard work of every member of the association's executive committee who have collectively driven Thai mixed martial arts to leap forward and stand at the forefront of Asia in such a short period of time. Today, we are not just looking at how many medals Thai children can win — we must build a system that gives the new generation of athletes the opportunity to grow and go as far as possible on their own path."
