Israeli wins gold at world kickboxing championships

Israeli kickboxer Yulia Sachkov won a gold medal on Saturday at the world championships in Bosnia.

Three other Israelis took home silver medals from the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) competition in Sarajevo.

Sachkov, a 21-year-old IDF soldier from Haifa, defeated her Czech opponent in the finals of the under-52 kilogram (114.5 pound) weight class of K-1 style kickboxing.

“This is a dream that came true,” she told Kan public radio. “Everything worked perfectly.”

Shir Cohen, 19, finished second in the under-52 kilogram class for KL style kickboxing.

Daniella Pashayev, an 18-year-old who like Cohen is from the northern city of Tiberias, was the runner-up in the LK style for the under-48 kilogram (106 pounds) class.

On the men’s side, 19-year-old Or Moshe from Nahariya won silver in the under-67 kilogram (148 pounds) class for K-1 style.

Hani Sachs, head of the Israel Kickboxing Federation, hailed the “historic achievement,” noting the young age of the Israeli athletes.

“We are valued, united team with excellent coaches,” she was quoted saying by Hebrew media.