Ja fighters aim at 10 gold medals Down Under

JAMAICA’S SIX-MAN team of martial artists to the 2025 International Sports Kickboxing Association’s Amateur Members Association (ISKA AMA) World Championships started filing out of the island this week, en route to Brisbane, Australia, aiming to improve on five gold medals won last year in Vienna, Austria.

Akino Lindsay, Richard Stone, and Nicholas Dusard, three of the most decorated ISKA AMA tatami (mat) fighters in the world are in Europe, preparing for the October 15-19 tournament in Australia at which more than 40 countries are expected to participate in ring and mat fighting.

Adrian Moore, Nicholai Reid, and Sharic Bowen, along with coaches Jason McKay and Claude Chin, are scheduled to depart within days, completing the Jamaican contingent aiming at a minimum 10 gold medals.

Jamaica’s martial artists have enjoyed dazzling success at ISKA AMA World Championships, a trend set to continue, with Lindsay and Stone holding 10 and eight gold medals, respectively, won in points (semi-contact) and continuous sparring (light contact) at the event featuring predominantly European teams.

In Vienna, Lindsay extended his ISKA AMA super heavyweight world record to five consecutive double gold medals. Lindsay holds 11 individual gold, overall, after winning gold and silver on his 2015 debut in Portugal.

Stone, who had successfully defended his heavyweight points-sparring title in Vienna 2024, after landing the points and continuous double in Munich, Germany 2023, has been in terrific form this season, winning double gold at July’s International Sports Karate Association’s United States Open.

Middleweight Nicholai Reid and microweight Sharic Bowen won points sparring gold and bronze, respectively, in Vienna 2024. Reid stopped Vladyslav Krykhtin of Ukraine 18-17 in a nail-biting final.

Bowen won bronze on his first combined-team assignment at the ISKA AMA World Championships, losing to Danylo Karabutov of Ukraine, going down 16-20 in a closely fought semi-final.

Moore and Dusard are ISKA AMA veterans, returning to Brisbane after missing Vienna. Both fighters warmed up with gold medals at the US Open in July.