KOTA KINABALU: Sabahan Angie Yan Jia Chi has once again made the state and country proud by retaining her world under-23 title in the female Wai Kru division at the 2025 IFMA World Muay Thai Championships in Antalya, Turkiye.
Yan, 23, dazzled the judges in the final with a performance that combined tradition, grace, and technical precision, scoring 9.60 points to edge out her Filipina opponent by just 0.1 point.
The narrow victory sealed her third consecutive world championship in the age category, having previously triumphed in Thailand (2023) and Greece (2024).
Her mother, Sally Kuan, beamed with pride at her daughter’s latest achievement, crediting Yan’s discipline and love for muay thai’s cultural roots.
“This win not only adds another gold to Malaysia’s medal tally, but also highlights the determination and cultural pride of our youth in keeping tradition alive on the world stage,” she said.
Yan has built a reputation as a dominant force in the non-combat Wai Kru category, a traditional pre-fight ritual that celebrates respect, heritage and mental focus in muay thai.
Her growing list of accolades includes gold medals at the 2023 IFMA World Cup U-23 in Turkiye; the World Combat Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and last year’s Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak.
Beyond competitive success, Yan also had the honour of being one of the two Malaysians at the 2024 Paris Olympics, not as a medal contender, but as part of a cultural showcase to promote muay thai globally.
She was selected to perform a special muay thai demonstration aimed at advocating for its inclusion as an official medal sport in the future.
“This experience gave me the chance to promote our art on the world’s biggest stage. It is about more than just competition, it is about honouring a tradition and showing the world how much it means to us,” Yan said in an earlier statement.
Meanwhile, both the national and state muay thai bodies extended their congratulations, commending Yan’s consistency and her role in promoting the sport.
Sabah Muaythai Association president Nazri Ab Razak praised her as a role model for aspiring athletes.
“With five world titles now under Sabah’s belt, we hope her success will inspire more youths in the state to pursue excellence in the sport, especially in its cultural disciplines,” he said.
He also noted that the sport is entering the third phase of its five-year development plan in Sabah, with growing emphasis on expanding local competitions and strengthening grassroots talent.
Among upcoming events, muay thai will feature prominently in the Sabah Games (Saga) in Tawau this October where, for the first time, the Wai Kru category will be officially included after making its debut as a demonstration event at Saga 2023 in Kota Kinabalu.
Nazri said the inclusion is a testament to growing recognition of muay thai’s cultural value alongside its sporting merit.
“We will continue developing the sport and creating more platforms for young Sabahan athletes to shine,” he added.
