Daniel Zahra (photo) inserted his name in the Maltese Kickboxing history recently. This was because he became the first Maltese who won a K1 competition. The Ying Yang Kickboxing Club’s athlete represented Malta in a local competition for which a Thai Boxing athlete was brought from the Netherlands. All of this was made under the patronage of Kancho Adrian Axisa, the founder of the Maltese Kickboxing Association (MKBA) and the World Kickboxing Network (WKN)

Zahra competed with Mohamed Jama who is a semi-professional Class B Thai Boxer. Jama took part and won his category in the Kickboxing World Cup that was organised in Malta last September. He has a record of 27 matches and, in his category, he competes around every six weeks in Thai Boxing or K1. This athlete has won European and world titles.

With this win Zahra now has three title belts of the WKN. The world title for 2009, the European title for 2007 and the K1 European title for 2010.

Last year Malta organised the first Kickboxing World Cup in which Zahra took part and even won his world title. With this latest honour, he became the first Maltese athlete to won a K1 match. Zahra has been training with Master Noel Mercieca for the past 11 years and has a Third Dan Black Belt.

Reuben Azzopardi was the first Maltese who represented Malta in a WKN competition in 2007. Last year, four students from Ying Yang won their category in the Kickboxing World Cup. This year Master Mercieca started teaching his students in a new venue.